Artificial Intelligence and Creativity: How AI Can Drive Your Team’s Innovation

Think back to the last time you had to tap into your creativity and come up with a new idea. Maybe you grabbed a sticky notepad and started scribbling. Maybe you rallied your team around a whiteboard. Or maybe—if we’re being honest—you reached for your favorite AI assistant. Tools like ChatGPT or Claude are rapidly becoming our digital brainstorming buddies. But when it comes to team creativity—the kind that drives real innovation—relying too heavily on artificial intelligence can backfire.

That’s not to say AI isn’t useful. It’s already proving helpful in specific scenarios. But as AI continues to reshape how we think, work, and collaborate, leaders need to ask a critical question: Are these tools making our teams more creative…or just more comfortable?

The research suggests a little of both. And it points to a better way forward.

The Allure—and Limitations—of AI-Generated Ideas

In a study led by Wharton professors, participants were asked to brainstorm ways to make a toy using a fan and a brick. Those using generative AI performed better on a narrow measure: their ideas were rated higher quality. But those same ideas were also more predictable, less surprising, and—crucially—remarkably similar to each other. Many even gave their toy the exact same name.

That’s the paradox of AI and creativity. These tools generate ideas quickly and fluently, but they often pull from the same well of data. They excel at recombining what’s already been said. Which means that while the output might feel useful—or even clever—it’s rarely original.

What’s worse, when teams lean too heavily on AI at the start of the creative process, they miss the essential friction that leads to breakthrough ideas. Instead of building off each other’s perspectives, they end up echoing what the algorithm already predicted.

Why Creativity Needs Conflict, Not Consensus

We tend to romanticize the lone genius: the inventor in a lab, the artist alone with their canvas. But research shows creativity is a team sport. And like any sport, it requires interaction, tension, and feedback to reach peak performance.

Harvard professor Teresa Amabile has found that the environment around us—especially the social and psychological cues we receive—shapes our creative potential. When people feel safe to share wild or half-formed ideas, innovation flourishes. When they’re met with raised eyebrows or a quick “that’ll never work,” the ideas dry up.

This is why psychological safety is so often cited in discussions of team performance. But creativity also needs something else: productive conflict. Not interpersonal friction, but idea-based pushback. The kind that strengthens concepts by challenging assumptions. That clash of perspectives—if handled well—elevates good ideas into great ones.

And here’s the problem: AI doesn’t push back. It agrees. It flatters. It offers variations and additions, not critiques. If anything, it reinforces your existing patterns of thought. ChatGPT thinks you’re a genius. Which feels nice. But it doesn’t lead to better ideas.

Creativity Isn’t a Job Title. It’s a Team Process.

Another myth that holds teams back is the belief that only some people are creative. You hear this in the language of organizations all the time. “That’s for the design team.” “We brought in a creative.” Somehow, “creative” has become a noun—and a rare one at that.

But innovation isn’t reserved for a select few. Creativity is problem-solving. It’s connecting dots in new ways. And it’s something every team member can—and should—contribute to.

That’s why inclusive brainstorming matters. Not because more heads automatically mean better ideas, but because more perspectives create more pathways. Cognitive diversity—the range of backgrounds, disciplines, and worldviews—gives your team a wider lens on the problem. But to access that diversity, you need to design your process with intention.

And that means holding off on AI…at least at first.

Start with the human brains. Invite individuals to brainstorm independently. Encourage people to share their own take on the problem, free from outside influence. Only after those ideas are out in the open should you bring AI into the mix—to expand, refine, or explore alternatives. That preserves the originality of the team’s thinking while still benefiting from AI’s associative power.

How to Use AI and Creativity Together—Without Losing the Spark

Here’s the better way to think about AI: not as your team’s creative engine, but as a sparring partner. Once your team has a promising idea, that’s the moment to introduce some artificial intelligence.

Feed the idea into the tool. Ask it to play the devil’s advocate. Prompt it with questions like, “If you were our biggest competitor, how would you attack this?” or “What are we missing here?” Let it generate friction points, overlooked risks, or alternate approaches.

This gives you the tension that innovation needs—without making it personal. Let’s face it, it’s easier to take criticism from a chatbot than from your boss.

But for that to work, leaders have to model the right behaviors. If you treat AI-generated content as gospel, your team will follow suit. If you use it playfully, critically, and strategically, they will too. The tone you set—curious, exploratory, never deferential—shapes how your team relates to the tool.

And here’s the surprising part: the best way to learn how to use AI creatively at work…might be to start using it outside of work. Ask it to plan a weekend trip. Draft a dinner recipe. Write a silly poem. The more you experiment in low-stakes ways, the more comfortable you’ll be navigating AI in high-stakes team settings.

Human Intelligence First, Artificial Intelligence Second

AI and creativity don’t have to be at odds. But they do need to be sequenced right. Start with human insight. Embrace the mess, the friction, the wild ideas. Then use AI to challenge, build, and refine.

The goal isn’t faster brainstorming. It’s better ideas. And that still depends on human curiosity, diverse perspectives, and leaders who know how to harness both.

So don’t outsource your team’s creativity to a bot. Instead, make AI your collaborator—not your creator.