IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jeborg/v242y2026ics0167268126000028.html

Generative AI adoption in human creative tasks: Experimental evidence

Author

Listed:
  • Zhu, Feng
  • Zou, Wenbo

Abstract

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are widely regarded as having the potential to enhance human creativity. In a pre-registered lab experiment, we assigned 302 university students tasks involving the creation of ideas for generating creative pictures, with a randomly selected subset granted access to ChatGPT. The results indicate that access to ChatGPT improves participants’ creative performance. The treatment effect follows an inverted-U relationship with respect to participants’ baseline creative potential, leading to a reduction in the inequality of their creative performances. Comparing the creative performance of human-AI teams to ChatGPT standalone, we find no evidence of complementarity. However, by using measures construed from the human-AI conversations to explain the variations in the observed treatment effects, we find suggestive evidence that collaborative involvement of ChatGPT is associated with more positive effects. Finally, we also observe significant treatment effects on participants’ opinions about AI, their ratings of subjective experiences during the tasks, and their self-reported creative and problem-solving abilities.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhu, Feng & Zou, Wenbo, 2026. "Generative AI adoption in human creative tasks: Experimental evidence," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 242(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:242:y:2026:i:c:s0167268126000028
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2026.107414
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167268126000028
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jebo.2026.107414?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Romer, Paul M, 1986. "Increasing Returns and Long-run Growth," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(5), pages 1002-1037, October.
    2. Erik Brynjolfsson & Danielle Li & Lindsey Raymond, 2025. "Generative AI at Work," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 140(2), pages 889-942.
    3. David Gill & Victoria Prowse, 2024. "The Creativity Premium: Exploring the Link between Childhood Creativity and Life Outcomes," Journal of Political Economy Microeconomics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 2(3), pages 495-526.
    4. Bohren, Noah & Hakimov, Rustamdjan & Lalive, Rafael, 2024. "Creative and Strategic Capabilities of Generative AI: Evidence from Large-Scale Experiments," CEPR Discussion Papers 19507, Centre for Economic Policy Research.
    5. Andrew D. Foster & Mark R. Rosenzweig, 2010. "Microeconomics of Technology Adoption," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 2(1), pages 395-424, September.
    6. Daniel P. Gross, 2020. "Creativity Under Fire: The Effects of Competition on Creative Production," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 102(3), pages 583-599, July.
    7. Kyogo Kanazawa & Daiji Kawaguchi & Hitoshi Shigeoka & Yasutora Watanabe, 2026. "AI, Skill, and Productivity: The Case of Taxi Drivers," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 72(2), pages 1376-1388, February.
    8. Lea Cassar & Stephan Meier, 2018. "Nonmonetary Incentives and the Implications of Work as a Source of Meaning," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 32(3), pages 215-238, Summer.
    9. Robert M. Solow, 1956. "A Contribution to the Theory of Economic Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 70(1), pages 65-94.
    10. Sanjiv Erat & Uri Gneezy, 2017. "Erratum to: Incentives for creativity," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 20(1), pages 274-275, March.
    11. Korinek, Anton, 2023. "Language Models and Cognitive Automation for Economic Research," CEPR Discussion Papers 17923, Centre for Economic Policy Research.
    12. Cortney S. Rodet, 2021. "Experiments on creativity and work design," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(3), pages 600-613, August.
    13. Byung Cheol Lee & Jaeyeon (Jae) Chung, 2024. "An empirical investigation of the impact of ChatGPT on creativity," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 8(10), pages 1906-1914, October.
    14. Dowling, Michael & Lucey, Brian, 2023. "ChatGPT for (Finance) research: The Bananarama Conjecture," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    15. Minkyu Shin & Jin Kim & Bas van Opheusden & Thomas L. Griffiths, 2023. "Superhuman Artificial Intelligence Can Improve Human Decision Making by Increasing Novelty," Papers 2303.07462, arXiv.org, revised Apr 2023.
    16. Bohren, Noah & Hakimov, Rustamdjan & Lalive, Rafael, 2024. "Creative and Strategic Capabilities of Generative AI: Evidence from Large-Scale Experiments," IZA Discussion Papers 17302, IZA Network @ LISER.
    17. Gary Charness & Daniela Grieco, 2023. "Creativity and Corporate Culture," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 133(653), pages 1846-1870.
    18. Mahmud, Hasan & Islam, A.K.M. Najmul & Ahmed, Syed Ishtiaque & Smolander, Kari, 2022. "What influences algorithmic decision-making? A systematic literature review on algorithm aversion," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    19. Gary Charness & Daniela Grieco, 2019. "Creativity and Incentives," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 17(2), pages 454-496.
    20. Zenan Chen & Jason Chan, 2024. "Large Language Model in Creative Work: The Role of Collaboration Modality and User Expertise," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 70(12), pages 9101-9117, December.
    21. Christiane Bradler & Susanne Neckermann & Arne Jonas Warnke, 2019. "Incentivizing Creativity: A Large-Scale Experiment with Performance Bonuses and Gifts," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 37(3), pages 793-851.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. van Lent, Max, 2025. "Peer creativity and academic achievement," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    2. Sands, Daniel B. & Sohn, Eunhee & Seamans, Robert, 2025. "Concept and creativity: Proof-of-concept demonstration and aviation innovation in the United States, 1894–1913," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 54(5).
    3. Erik Sarrazin, 2026. "Incentives and Creativity in Groups — Experimental Evidence on Creative Processes and Dimensions," Working Papers 2601, Gutenberg School of Management and Economics, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, revised 21 May 2026.
    4. Katharina Laske & Nathalie Römer & Marina Schröder, 2024. "Piece-Rate Incentives and Idea Generation – An Experimental Analysis," CESifo Working Paper Series 11594, CESifo.
    5. Giuseppe Attanasi & Michela Chessa & Sara Gil-Gallen & Patrick Llerena, 2021. "A survey on experimental elicitation of creativity in economics," Revue d'économie industrielle, De Boeck Université, vol. 0(2), pages 273-324.
    6. Glenn Dutcher & Cortney S. Rodet, 2022. "Which two heads are better than one? Uncovering the positive effects of diversity in creative teams," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(4), pages 884-897, November.
    7. Grözinger, Nicola & Irlenbusch, Bernd & Laske, Katharina & Schröder, Marina, 2020. "Innovation and communication media in virtual teams – An experimental study," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 201-218.
    8. Cortney S. Rodet, 2021. "The wellspring of creativity? Using divergent‐thinking tasks to understand creative characteristics," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 42(6), pages 1435-1453, September.
    9. Jakub Growiec, 2023. "Industry 4.0? Framing the Digital Revolution and Its Long-Run Growth Consequences," Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, issue 4, pages 1-16.
    10. Georgios A. Tritsaris, 2025. "Occupational Tasks, Automation, and Economic Growth: A Modeling and Simulation Approach," Papers 2512.16261, arXiv.org, revised Dec 2025.
    11. Blaufus, Kay & Piehl, Kevin & Schröder, Marina, 2025. "Input versus Output Incentives in Idea Generation - An Experimental Analysis," VfS Annual Conference 2025 (Cologne): Revival of Industrial Policy 325392, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    12. Michela Chessa & Benjamin Prissé, 2024. "The Evaluation of Creativity," GREDEG Working Papers 2024-16, Groupe de REcherche en Droit, Economie, Gestion (GREDEG CNRS), Université Côte d'Azur, France.
    13. Grieco, Daniela & Llerena, Patrick & Maltese, Anne-Gaëlle, 2026. "Creativity and task perception," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 241(C).
    14. Zhou, Yiyong & Liu, Qinghan & Huang, Jihao & Li, Guiquan, 2026. "Creative scar without generative AI: Individual creativity fails to sustain while homogeneity keeps climbing," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    15. Goette, Lorenz & Senn, Julien, 2024. "Incentivizing interdependent tasks: Evidence from a real-effort experiment," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).
    16. van Lent, Max, 2024. "Peer Creativity and Academic Achievement," IZA Discussion Papers 16847, IZA Network @ LISER.
    17. Growiec, Jakub, . "Gospodarka 4.0? Nowe ujęcie teoretyczne rewolucji cyfrowej i jej konsekwencji dla długookresowego wzrostu," Gospodarka Narodowa-The Polish Journal of Economics, Szkoła Główna Handlowa w Warszawie / SGH Warsaw School of Economics, vol. 2023(4).
    18. Rao, B. Bhaskara, 2010. "Estimates of the steady state growth rates for selected Asian countries with an extended Solow model," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 46-53, January.
    19. Prof. Dr. Adem KALCA & Resc. Assist. Atakan DURMAZ, 2012. "Diaspora As The Instrument Of Humane Capital," International Journal of Business and Social Research, LAR Center Press, vol. 2(5), pages 94-104, October.
    20. Boucekkine, Raouf & del Rio, Fernando & Licandro, Omar, 2005. "Obsolescence and modernization in the growth process," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(1), pages 153-171, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:242:y:2026:i:c:s0167268126000028. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jebo .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.