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7 Conclusion We surveyed 319 knowledge workers who use GenAlI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Copilot) at work at least once per week, to model how they enact critical thinking when using GenAl tools, and how GenAl affects their perceived effort of thinking critically. Analysing 936 real-world GenAlI tool use examples our participants shared, we find that knowledge workers engage in critical thinking primarily to ensure the quality of their work, e.g. by verifying outputs against external sources. Moreover, while GenAl can improve worker effi- ciency, it can inhibit critical engagement with work and can poten- tially lead to long-term overreliance on the tool and diminished skill for independent problem-solving. Higher confidence in GenATI’s ability to perform a task is related to less critical thinking effort. When using GenAl tools, the effort invested in critical thinking shifts from information gathering to information verification; from problem-solving to Al response integration; and from task execu- tion to task stewardship. Knowledge workers face new challenges in critical thinking as they incorporate GenAl into their knowledge workflows. To that end, our work suggests that GenAlI tools need to be designed to support knowledge workers’ critical thinking by addressing their awareness, motivation, and ability barriers.