Augmenting Online Teamwork Dynamics: Investigating the Effects of a Generative AI Chatbot on Perceived Assistance and the Assessment of Team Members

Advances in information and communication technology have enabled teamwork in the online environment, and now online teamwork is an everyday encounter. Students start working in teams by contacting one another through online collaboration tools or instant messengers. However, online teamwork has a problem in which it is difficult to build relationships among team members. We conducted an experiment to identify the effects of a chatbot in messenger during online teamwork. Considering communication methods and interfaces, we divided the teamwork conditions into three cases: AI Assistant in Chatroom, AI Assistant on Web Page, and Search Engine. As a result of the analysis, we found significant differences between groups in perceived assistance in team processes and the assessment of team member effectiveness depending on the types of team methods with assistance. Specifically, the prototype chatbot proposed in this study showed more positive effects than the other methods.