“Let’s do it”

Abstract

The article asks how narrative theory can analyse storytelling practices that emerge in interactions between humans and LLM-based chatbots and how LLM-based chatbots become part of narrative identity work in intimate everyday practices on r/MyBoyfriendIsAI. Analysing stories shared on the subreddit, the article proposes to shift a dominant focus within narrative research on LLM-driven chatbots from examining the what (the story) and the how (the discourse) to examining the why (the act of narration), and thus circles in on the lived narrative practices of human–chatbot storytelling. Following this, the article proceeds to revise Bamberg’s positioning model by factoring in the specific conditions of automated communication in the understanding of LLM-based interactional storytelling and defines human–machine narration as entangled storytelling practices emerging between the prompt of a human and the response of a machine designed to communicate.