Double-edged sword effect of employee–AI collaboration: the role of AI uncertainty and digital leadership

Purpose Employee-AI collaboration is increasingly critical in the workplace, motivating employees to adopt new working models. Grounded in uncertainty management theory (UMT), this study develops a moderated mediation model to examine how and when employee-AI collaboration influences job crafting and knowledge hiding via AI uncertainty. Design/methodology/approach We conducted a three-wave lagged survey with 361 full-time employees from China. Findings Employee-AI collaboration is positively associated with AI uncertainty. AI uncertainty plays the mediating role between employee-AI collaboration, job crafting and knowledge hiding. Digital leadership moderates these relationships. In detail, higher digital leadership strengthens the positive relationship between AI uncertainty and job crafting while weakening its relationship with knowledge hiding. Originality/value This study offers a contingent perspective on employee-AI collaboration, identifies AI uncertainty as a key mediator, and highlights digital leadership’s role in managing AI-related challenges. We discuss practical implications for leveraging digital leadership to optimize AI integration.