Priming, Path-dependence, and Plasticity: Understanding the molding of user-LLM interaction and its implications from (many) chat logs in the wild
User interactions with LLMs are shaped by prior experiences and individual exploration, but in-lab studies do not provide system designers with visibility into these in-the-wild factors. This work explores a new approach to studying real-world user-LLM interactions through large-scale chat logs from the wild. Through analysis of 140K chatbot sessions from 7,955 anonymized global users over time, we demonstrate key patterns in user expressions despite varied tasks: (1) LLM users are not tabula rasa, nor are they constantly adapting; rather, interaction patterns form and stabilize rapidly through individual early trajectories; (2) Longitudinal outcomes, such as recurring text patterns and r...
| Authors | Shengqi Zhu, Jeffrey M. Rzeszotarski, David Mimno |
|---|---|
| Primary category | cs.HC |
| Published | 7 May 2026 |
| Last updated at source | 7 May 2026 |
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