Agency in Human-AI Collaboration for Image Generation and Creative Writing: Preliminary Insights from Think-Aloud Protocols

The integration of generative artificial intelligence into creative domains raises critical questions about human agency in AI-assisted creation. In this two-study article (study one, n = 6; study two, n = 7), we explored how people experience creative agency during co-creative tasks with AI, focusing on image generation and writing. Using think-aloud protocols and post-task semi-structured interviews, we conducted an analysis to identify four central dimensions of agency: creative self-efficacy, control over creative action, autonomy in the creative process, and ownership of the creative product, as well as the self-regulatory and metacognitive mechanisms that support sustaining agency. Preliminary findings reveal that agency in human – AI co-creation fluctuates across the creative process. Participants employed adaptive strategies – such as progressive refinement, selective appropriation, and counter-inspiration – to reinforce agency when navigating unpredictable AI outputs. However, moments of diminished control and uncertainty about ownership were common, particularly when AI contributions deviated from user expectations. To contextualize these experiences, we applied the Co-Creative Framework for Interaction Design, highlighting how tool affordances shaped participants’ sense of agency. Participants’ shifting experiences of agency suggest a need for adaptive system features that align with evolving user goals.