When AI gets Personal: Employee emotional responses to anthropomorphic AI agents in a virtual workspace

Understanding how AI influences employee emotions is becoming critical as organizations prepare for widespread AI agent deployment. While existing research has explored human-AI interactions in corporate settings, little is known about how employees emotionally navigate relationships with AI agents exhibiting distinct personality traits. This empirical study examines white-collar employees' emotional responses while interacting with three generative AI agents in a virtual workspace, revealing novel social dynamics enabled by AI technologies. Using qualitative methods and inductive analysis, our findings show that anthropomorphic AI agents evoke a broad spectrum of emotions, from connection and contentment to amusement and frustration , extending beyond those typically triggered by web-based AI agents. Notably, participants experienced new emotional subsets, including unique manifestations of relational assurance and perceived worthlessness , which introduces new emotional subcategories within established frameworks. Moreover, the visual embodiment of AI agents in virtual workspaces significantly shapes user expectations and satisfaction. While a more human-like appearance can enhance engagement, it also introduces risks—a mismatch between an AI’s visual representation and its actual behavior can heighten disappointment if the AI fails to meet human-like expectations. As organizations integrate AI agents into the workplace, our findings provide key insights for designing effective human-AI interactions. We emphasize the importance of human-centered design approaches that foster, rather than hinder, employee engagement, ensuring AI contributes positively to corporate environments. • Presents an empirical study exploring white-collar employees' interactions with anthropomorphic AI agents in a virtual workspace, offering actionable insights for human-centered corporate AI design and deployment. • Extends a framework for understanding emotional dynamics in human-AI interactions, with a particular focus on emerging emotional patterns unique to anthropomorphic AI collaboration. • Explores the innovative convergence of AI and VR technologies, laying the groundwork for research on future workspaces where human employees collaborate with virtual AI agents.