Business and Professional Communication Quarterly May 2025

“Don’t Ban, Teach”: Two Pilot Studies on AI Instruction in Business Communication

Emily Barrow DeJeu Carnegie Mellon University ; Beth A. Walter Carnegie Mellon University ; Michael C. Melville

Abstract

Emerging consensus suggests faculty should teach students to use large language models (LLMs) rather than ban them, but it is not clear that students need detailed AI-related instruction. To investigate, we conducted two studies: Study 1 used survey and focus group methods to assess how such instruction influenced students’ perceptions, while Study 2 used rater evaluation to examine how AI use affected message quality. Study 1 found no meaningful impact on perceptions. Study 2 found that instruction did not affect ratings, but genAI use did—messages composed with LLM assistance received higher evaluations than those without it. We conclude with recommendations for genAI-focused classroom instruction.

Journal
Business and Professional Communication Quarterly
Published
2025-05-28
DOI
10.1177/23294906251336719
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Topics
assessment professional writing qualitative research artificial intelligence affect and writing
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