Exploring How Knowledge Workers Situate an Organisationally Embedded LLM Agent in their Collaborative Work Practices

Abstract

Since their introduction, large language models (LLMs), have seen widespread adoption by knowledge workers across a range of industries. A growing body of research is exploring this adoption and examining its implications for the future of work. However, much of this research has focused on individual workers with less attention on understanding how these technologies impact the collaborative practices of knowledge work. Furthermore, studies have primarily explored off-the-shelf LLM systems such as ChatGPT which have limited integration into enterprise systems and workflows. As organisations develop and deploy their own LLM agents, grounded in their specific enterprise systems and workflows, there is an important need to understand how they transform collaborative knowledge work. To address this need we present a qualitative study conducted in an IT services organisation that has introduced a custom LLM agent integrated into its enterprise systems, documents, and workflows. We examine how the employees have integrated the technology into trajectories of everyday practices and workflows and how this shapes collaboration in knowledge work.