Generative AI in Idea Development: The Role of Numeric and Visual Feedback

Human creativity is a crucial factor in developing innovative ideas. Many ideas are being generated, but only a few receive feedback, as creating feedback is a costly and timeconsuming effort in innovation. While feedback promises higher idea quality, previous work requires human experts with domain expertise. Generative AI could provide automated feedback and is expected to transform creative work. This short paper presents an experimental series in which we let humans collaborate with generative AI to develop ideas. Based on dual-coding and media synchronicity theory, we conceptualize numerical and visual feedback to overcome cognitive barriers. We manipulate feedback modalities and timing to personalize the interaction. Our contributions provide evidence on when and why specific co-creative arrangements between humans and generative AI are favorable.