From Interactive Idea Development to Solution Planning: An AI-assisted Discussion Facilitation Timeline for Collaborative Planning

The recent advancements in AI technology have shown the potential for chatbots to facilitate discussions. However, current chatbots mainly focus on discussion development and do not effectively synthesize idea development into solution planning. This is due to the need for better alignment between facilitation and discussion. To address this issue, we propose an AI-assisted discussion facilitation timeline that merges discussion development and planning in a water-flow-friendly manner. Our paper investigates the effect of this approach on critical thinking in developing informed opinions or positions. In a comparative study with 48 participants, we found that chatbots with a facilitation timeline induced critical thinking more effectively, leading to more informed decision-making. Our findings provide a basis for designing tools that synthesize idea development into solution planning in online communities.