TimelyAI: When Should Generative AI Assistants Intervene?
Yihang Zhao, Qing, Amy Rechkemmer, Yiwen Xing, Lise Stork, Albert Meroño-Peñuela, Mark E. Whiting, Advait Sarkar, Duncan P. Brumby, Elena Paslaru Bontas Simperl · 2026
“When should Generative AI (GenAI) assistants intervene, if at all?” While current GenAI assistants in knowledge work primarily operate reactively, responding only when users initiate an interaction, there is significant potential for these assistants to proactively assist in tasks. To tap into the potential of proactive GenAI assistants, it is important to examine when interventions are useful, when they are harmful, and how such judgements can be made reliably. The goal of this workshop, TimelyAI, at CHIWORK 2026 is to bring together Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) researchers interested in AI, psychological science, and social science to examine the timing of GenAI intervention in knowledge work and establish a shared research agenda.