Designing Proactive Thought Partners for Writing

2026-09-01

AI Summary

研究设计了主动思维伙伴AI，为写作过程提供定制化的高级认知支持，并通过技术探针测试其有效性。

Abstract

Writing involves diverse cognitive activities, from ideation to revision, and writers' needs vary across individuals and moments. Proactive AI promises to provide the right support at the right time, yet existing proactive tools largely focus on generic textual assistance, such as autocomplete. This paper studies the design space of proactive thought partners: AI agents that proactively offer customizable, higher-level cognitive support during writing. We instantiated this concept in a technology probe and deployed it with 16 participants for one week. The probe allows users to create partners by configuring their roles and proactivity. As users write, relevant partners take the initiative at appropriate moments to offer suggestions. Our findings show that participants configured proactive support through prospective planning, used suggestions for both idea generation and self-monitoring, and valued lightweight visual representations alongside non-directive rhetorical framing for non-intrusive interventions. We derive implications for designing proactive writing assistants around customization, timing, engagement, and representation.

Problem

• Proactive AI
• Writing Assistance
• Cognitive Support
• Customization

Innovation

• Proactive Thought Partners
• Customizable Cognitive Support
• Non-intrusive Interventions