diverge · Ideation, Decision Making · 30–45 min · 4-30 people · medium energy

Diverge-Narrow-Converge with AI

Small groups co-write a prompt to generate a large set of ideas with AI, then ask the AI to score every idea against criteria the facilitator prepared, such as feasibility, desirability and viability. Each group brings only its top five to the whole group. The extra narrowing step keeps the volume AI produces from swamping the discussion.

When to use Diverge-Narrow-Converge with AI

Use in ideation workshops where people have AI tools at hand and you need to keep the group from drowning in output.

What it solves

With AI, a team can generate two hundred ideas in ten minutes and then has no way to discuss them.

How to run Diverge-Narrow-Converge with AI, step by step

  1. Present the challenge and the evaluation criteria, with a 1-10 scale for each (5 min).
  2. Groups of 2-4 write one prompt together asking for 15-20 ideas (5 min).
  3. Run the prompt, read the output, and refine the prompt at least once (8-10 min).
  4. Ask the AI to rate every idea on each criterion as a scorecard and return the top five (5 min).
  5. Each group reviews the five, swaps out any it disagrees with, and posts them to the shared board (5 min).
  6. Whole group converges on the shortlist using your usual voting method (10-15 min).

Materials needed

  • AI chat tool per group
  • Prepared criteria and scorecard prompt
  • Shared digital board

Facilitator tips

  • Plan more time than a non-AI round. Reading and re-prompting take longer than people expect.
  • Co-writing the prompt is valuable in itself; the discussion while drafting often matters as much as the output.
  • Keep human judgement in step 5. The scorecard is a filter, not a decision.

Common pitfalls

  • Groups paste in all twenty ideas instead of narrowing first.
  • Criteria are vague, so the AI's scores are noise.

Variations

  • Have people ideate alone without AI first, then use AI to extend the set, to keep original thinking in the mix.

Running it online or hybrid

Document everything digitally; AI outputs are too long for sticky notes. Pairs or trios share one AI chat and paste their shortlist into a shared board.

What it produces

A shortlist of five scored ideas per group, plus the prompts that produced them.

Origin

Described by Tanner Kohler of Nielsen Norman Group in Facilitating AI-Enhanced Workshops (2025), based on running ideation workshops where participants used generative AI. — source

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