Adaptive Conversational Agents: Exploring the Effect of Individualized Design on User Experience

Riefle, Alamo Alonso, Jungnitz, Rothmaier, Wiegand, Zacateco Herrera, Benz · 2023 · information-systems · record riefle2023-adaptive-conversational-agents-exp
tag layer · index · concepts · authors · עברית
Where this record's text came from. faceted 2026-08 by reading the locally held text (pdftext); every evidence string verified as an exact substring of that text before merging. This is an ECIS research-in-progress paper: the design and hypotheses are fully specified but only pilot data (n=37, 30 analysed) are reported, and results are partial - enjoyment and re-use intention were significant only in the 'need for interaction' group, with no significant effects in the cognitive-style group and enjoyment there actually rated worse for the individualized agent. Claim type 'existence' reflects the abstract's confirmed claim; the paper is honest that the effect did not appear across both characteristics. The second claim_relation is coded 'extends' rather than 'critique' because the shortcoming in prior work is raised to motivate the present design, not as the paper's contribution. The first quoted limitation ends in a colon; it is copied verbatim including that colon, since the sentence containing the sample-size acknowledgement runs on into the results. 2026-08-14 and 2026-08-25 schema-0.3 passes: every quote verified as an exact substring of the staged text and anchored at merge time; concept terms verified present; every edge endpoint an existing node.
How to read this page. The article itself is not reproduced here — this paper is not cleared for redistribution, so what follows is the tag layer alone. The evidence sentences are withheld with the article. The table at the foot lists every tag the record carries; each row names the facet it belongs to, and the whose words column says whether the tag records the paper's own wording or the tagger's sentence about the paper. Every tag links to each other paper in the corpus carrying it. The machine-readable edition of the same thing is the TEI file beside this one, where the tags live in standOff, and the article is at its publisher via the link below. When we have changed our mind. Some entries in the table begin with a word in capitals and the reason for it. EVIDENCE CORRECTED — the finding still stands, but we had quoted the wrong sentence from the paper, and the quotation has been replaced with the right one. RETRACTED — the entry itself was wrong; it stays on the page, marked, with the reason, rather than being deleted. WITHDRAWN AND REPLACED — the entry was wrong, and a corrected version of it appears in the entries below. Each mark carries its own reason, in brackets, because the reasons differ from one entry to the next. An entry we have WITHDRAWN is removed from this page and kept in the record, with its reason. A line reading Audit and a date is a later re-reading of the entry against its whole sentence: DOUBTFUL means it was kept, and the reason says what is loose about it. Quotation marks inside the tagger's sentence. Where a tag is the tagger's own sentence, a phrase in quotation marks inside it is borrowed from the paper — the tagger's wording around it is not. The paper's own sentence is the evidence quote for that row; on this page it is withheld with the article, and the article is at its publisher. Nothing inside quotation marks anywhere on this page is ours: if it is quoted, it is the paper's. Whose words a concept carries. A concept entry records a term the paper itself uses, so the term, the sense given for it, and its evidence are the paper's own words, quoted where the paper fixes them. This is the opposite of a sense entry in the tag table, which is the tagger's sentence about how the paper uses a term. Where a concept entry could not be grounded in the paper's words, the entry says so on its own row.
Other fields define these differently the same word, defined another way in another discipline
standard deviation 3 fields

Tags on this paper

Every tag the record carries, each linking to every other paper in the corpus that carries it. A tag appears here whether or not its words occur in the article — the spans below are only the ones a sentence in this paper licenses. Of the 3 concept tags on this paper, all 3 are grounded in a quoted sentence.
conversational agents user experience service satisfaction Accommodating one's communication style to the interlocutor signals an attitude toward them and thereby steers how the speaker and the interaction are evaluated An interaction partner that accommodates the user's needs signals attention and caring, which raises perceived social presence, which in turn produces enjoyment Matching the chatbot's communication style to the user's cognitive abilities lowers the cognitive effort the interaction demands and raises its efficiency, which drives re-use intention The unequal split between rational and intuitive participants left that group underpowered, producing the absence of significant differences conversational agents (CAs) cognitive style intuitive cognitive style rational cognitive style need for interaction user characteristics enjoyment user characteristic experimental task t-test t-tests Wilcoxon signed-rank test Wilcoxon signed rank tests p-value median split power analysis a priori power analysis using G*Power effect size (Cohen's d) standard deviation behavioural-experiment

Legend

relation to other workclaim_relationshow this paper stands to another: agrees, contradicts, extends, qualifies
claim typeclaim_typethe shape of the claim: existence, mechanism, method, critique, prediction, null
concept edgeconcept_edgesan asserted relation between two concepts, with the sentence asserting it
conceptconceptsan idea the paper works with, quoted where the paper uses it
content tagcontent_tagsa finding, definition, quantity, statistic or variable named in the paper
controlcontrolsan experiment run to eliminate a rival explanation
limitationlimitationswhat the paper says its evidence cannot support
mechanismmechanismshow the reported effect is said to come about
methodmethodhow the paper produced its evidence
phenomenonphenomenonthe effect or regularity under study
sensesensesa distinct use of a term, quoted where the paper fixes it
transfertransfersa method or concept carried in from another field

The paper

The full text is not reproduced here. This article is not cleared for redistribution, so the page carries the tag layer only. Its evidence sentences are withheld; the grounding status remains with each tag, and the article itself is at its publisher. The reading view exists for the papers whose licence permits it.

Every tag on this page

claim_relations 2 · claim_type 1 · concept_edges 1 · concepts 3 · content_tags 31 · controls 1 · limitations 8 · mechanisms 4 · method 1 · phenomenon 1 · senses 2 · transfers 1

Relations on this page carry a quotation for the claim. Where a relation was separately evidenced — and so tested against the vocabulary for its type — the row says so; none of 1 relation here carry that mark. The rest are the tagger’s reading of the sentence quoted beside them.

facettagfieldconf.whose words
claim_typeexistence
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
claim_typethe paper's words
phenomenonadaptive conversational agent design
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
phenomenonthe paper's words
methodbehavioural-experiment
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
methodthe paper's words
mechanismsmechanisms
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
mechanisms[0]the tagger's words
mechanismsmechanisms
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
mechanisms[1]the tagger's words
mechanismsmechanisms
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
mechanisms[2]the tagger's words
mechanismsmechanisms
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
mechanisms[3]the tagger's words
limitationsThe pilot's sample was small and the authors treat the whole design as provisional pending a larger main study.
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
what this limits: everything reported: DESPITE ITS LIMITED SAMPLE SIZE, OUR PILOT STUDY OFFERS VALUABLE INSIGHTS - a pilot, treated as provisional pending the main study
limitations[0]the tagger's words
limitationsThe within-subjects design may bias later user-experience responses; a between-subjects design is being considered instead.
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
what this limits: the user-experience responses specifically: IT IS WORTH CONSIDERING A BETWEEN-SUBJECTS DESIGN ... AS THIS PREVENTS PARTICIPANTS FROM BEING BIASED IN THEIR RESPONSES
limitations[1]the tagger's words
limitationsThe cognitive-style group was imbalanced (10 rational vs 4 intuitive), which may explain the absence of significant effects there.
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
what this limits: the null for cognitive style: A POSSIBLE EXPLANATION COULD BE THE IMBALANCE OF THE NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS THAT WERE CLASSIFIED AS RATIONAL OR INTUITIVE (10 COMPARED TO 4)
limitations[2]the tagger's words
limitationsOnly two user characteristics were studied, and separately; other characteristics and their combinations remain unexamined.
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
what this limits: the generality of the personalisation claim: only two user characteristics were studied, separately, so combinations remain untested
limitations[3]the tagger's words
limitationsThe summarised benefit does not carry the exceptions the results report: in one group the adapted agent was no better on satisfaction, and the UN-adapted agent was rated higher on enjoyment.
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
what this limits: the conclusion that individualised CA design improves user experience: the results report two exceptions in the rational/intuitive cognitive style group, one of them favouring the un-adapted agent on enjoyment
limitations[4]1.0the tagger's words
limitationsThe design used may bias the responses it collects, and the authors say a different design would prevent it.
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
what this limits: these pilot ratings as unbiased measures of user experience: the authors state a within-subjects design was used and that a between-subjects design would prevent bias from previous questions
limitations[5]1.0the tagger's words
limitationsTwo user characteristics were examined, separately, and the authors state the interplay between them was not investigated.
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
what this limits: generalising to adaptation on user characteristics in general: two were examined separately, and their combinations and other CA design characteristics were not
limitations[6]1.0the tagger's words
limitationsThe constructs are measured entirely by item sets borrowed from other studies, so the measurement inherits whatever those instruments assume.
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
what this limits: these variables as directly observed: every construct is measured with item sets adopted from prior literature rather than developed or validated here
limitations[7]1.0the tagger's words
transfersthe theory of how humans accommodate their speech to an interlocutor, re-applied to design a chatbot that accommodates its style to the user
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
transfers[0]the tagger's words
controlsattention check questions embedded in the instrument, with the seven data sets that failed them excluded before analysis
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
eliminates: inattentive responding - participants clicking through a questionnaire about conversational agents without reading it · outcome (stated by the tagger, no quotation): held
controls[0]0.85the tagger's words
conceptsconversational agents
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
concepts[0]the paper's words
conceptsuser experience
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
concepts[1]the paper's words
conceptsservice satisfaction
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
concepts[2]the paper's words
sensesuser experience - operationalised as three separate measured constructs: service satisfaction as the evaluative attribute, enjoyment as the hedonic one, re-use intention as the pragmatic one
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
senses[0]1.0the tagger's words
sensessatisfaction - a construct the paper notes is used for two different things across disciplines: user attitudes ABOUT A SYSTEM, or the perception of SERVICE INTERACTIONS
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
senses[1]1.0the tagger's words
claim_relationsbuilds-on → communication accommodation theory (Giles et al., 2010)
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
claim_relations[0]the tagger's words
claim_relationsextends → Altmeyer et al. (2020); Danckwerts et al. (2019); Gnewuch et al. (2020)
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
claim_relations[1]the tagger's words
concept_edgesuser experience —operationalised-as→ service satisfaction
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
strength of the relation: 1
concept_edges[0]the tagger's words
content_tagst-test
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
also in: t-test
content_tags.statistics[0]the tagger's words
content_tagsWilcoxon signed-rank test
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
content_tags.statistics[1]the tagger's words
content_tagsp-value
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
also in: p-value
content_tags.statistics[2]the tagger's words
content_tagsmedian split
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
also in: median split
content_tags.statistics[3]the tagger's words
content_tagspower analysis
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
content_tags.statistics[4]the tagger's words
content_tagseffect size (Cohen's d)
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
content_tags.statistics[5]the tagger's words
content_tagsstandard deviation
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
content_tags.statistics[6]the tagger's words
content_tagsIn the need-for-interaction group, both enjoyment and re-use intention were significantly higher for the chatbot adapted to the user than for the non-adapted chatbot.
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
content_tags.findings[0]the tagger's words
content_tagsIn the rational/intuitive cognitive-style group, none of the user-experience differences between the adapted and non-adapted chatbot reached statistical significance.
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
content_tags.findings[1]the tagger's words
content_tagsThe improvement in service satisfaction from individualization was not statistically significant.
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
content_tags.findings[2]the tagger's words
content_tagsIndividualization improved ratings in both groups except that, for cognitive-style adaptation, service satisfaction was unchanged and enjoyment was actually rated higher for the non-adapted chatbot.
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
content_tags.findings[3]the tagger's words
content_tagsEnjoyment of the chatbot adapted to the user's need for interaction averaged 5.70 against 4.90 for the one-size-fits-all chatbot.
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
content_tags.findings[4]the tagger's words
content_tagsconversational agents (CAs)
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
content_tags.definitions[0]the tagger's words
content_tagscognitive style
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
content_tags.definitions[1]the tagger's words
content_tagsintuitive cognitive style
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
content_tags.definitions[2]the tagger's words
content_tagsrational cognitive style
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
content_tags.definitions[3]the tagger's words
content_tagsneed for interaction
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
content_tags.definitions[4]the tagger's words
content_tagsuser characteristics
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
content_tags.definitions[5]the tagger's words
content_tagsenjoyment
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
also in: enjoyment
content_tags.definitions[6]the tagger's words
content_tagsuser characteristic
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
content_tags.variables[1]the tagger's words
content_tagsuser experience
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
content_tags.variables[2]the tagger's words
content_tagsexperimental task
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
content_tags.variables[4]the tagger's words
content_tags37 — participants recruited for the pilot study
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
content_tags.quantities[0]the tagger's words
content_tags30 — usable data sets analysed after excluding inattentive participants
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
content_tags.quantities[1]the tagger's words
content_tagsseven — data sets dropped for failing attention checks
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
content_tags.quantities[2]the tagger's words
content_tags52 — participants in the pre-study used to set the classification thresholds
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
content_tags.quantities[3]the tagger's words
content_tags4.7 — threshold score on the 7-point scale above which a participant counts as having a high need for interaction
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
content_tags.quantities[4]the tagger's words
content_tagsmean = 5.70 compared to mean = 4.90 — enjoyment rating of the CA adapted to need for interaction versus the one-size-fits-all CA
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
content_tags.quantities[5]the tagger's words
content_tags90 — minimum sample size the power analysis requires for the planned main study
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
content_tags.quantities[6]the tagger's words
content_tagsn = 8 — participants in the two qualitative pre-tests validating the chatbots
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
content_tags.quantities[7]the tagger's words
content_tags10 compared to 4 — imbalance between participants classified as rational and as intuitive, offered as the reason for the null result in that group
Quotation withheld — this record is not cleared for redistribution. The sentence is in the paper at the link above.
content_tags.quantities[8]the tagger's words

Interpretive choices

Tags that could not be placed in the text:

What was deliberately not tagged, and why, is recorded per paper by the tagger. Where a paper has no such record, this page says so rather than implying that nothing was declined.

© 2026 Shir Sivroni · ORCID 0009-0000-2597-2824