Paper Number
ECIS2026-2921
Paper Type
CRP
Abstract
Generative AI (GenAI) is rapidly entering knowledge work, yet we know little about how it reshapes the work and self-understanding consultants. This paper examines how GenAI chatbots reconfigure roles, competences and professional identities in Help Desks. Drawing on 31 semi-structured interviews with Help Desk consultants across three organisational contexts and analysed using a Gioia-based approach, we show that GenAI chatbot acts as a “backstage teammate”: it drafts code and messages, accelerates search and filters routine issues, while Help Desk consultants increasingly operate as interpreters, supervisors and orchestrators of human–AI workflows. Competence shifts from executing tasks to critically managing GenAI chatbots outputs, sustaining foundational skills and protecting tacit expertise. Identity work unfolds between protection (defending experience and status) and restructuring (embracing “AI-augmented” roles). We synthesise these dynamics into a practitioner-oriented framework, linking role and competence configurations to identity positions and offering guidance for responsible GenAI deployment.
Recommended Citation
Perozzo, Haiat and Ravarini, Aurelio, "Reconfiguring Help Desk Work: How GenAI Chatbots Transform Roles, Competences and Professional Identity" (2026). ECIS 2026 Proceedings. 19.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/ecis2026/genai/genai/19
Reconfiguring Help Desk Work: How GenAI Chatbots Transform Roles, Competences and Professional Identity
Generative AI (GenAI) is rapidly entering knowledge work, yet we know little about how it reshapes the work and self-understanding consultants. This paper examines how GenAI chatbots reconfigure roles, competences and professional identities in Help Desks. Drawing on 31 semi-structured interviews with Help Desk consultants across three organisational contexts and analysed using a Gioia-based approach, we show that GenAI chatbot acts as a “backstage teammate”: it drafts code and messages, accelerates search and filters routine issues, while Help Desk consultants increasingly operate as interpreters, supervisors and orchestrators of human–AI workflows. Competence shifts from executing tasks to critically managing GenAI chatbots outputs, sustaining foundational skills and protecting tacit expertise. Identity work unfolds between protection (defending experience and status) and restructuring (embracing “AI-augmented” roles). We synthesise these dynamics into a practitioner-oriented framework, linking role and competence configurations to identity positions and offering guidance for responsible GenAI deployment.
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