Fit Matters: Format-Distance Alignment Improves Conversational Search

2026-01-20

AI Summary

This study addresses a critical gap in conversational search systems: the absence of mechanisms that adapt response formats to users’ psychological distance, thereby limiting user experience optimization. Introducing “format–distance alignment” as a novel design dimension, the work leverages construal level theory and employs a between-subjects experiment to manipulate the congruence between temporal/spatial distance and information granularity (abstract vs. concrete) as well as media modality (text vs. text-and-image). Results demonstrate that aligned formats significantly reduce perceived risk while enhancing decision confidence, perceived usefulness, ease of use, enjoyment, credibility, and intention to adopt. Notably, in near-distance tasks, concrete formats elicit more efficient cognitive engagement. The findings reveal that multimedia effectiveness hinges on the complementarity between content format and psychological distance, offering a new design paradigm for conversational search systems.

Technology Category

• Data Mining & Knowledge Management: Conversational Systems for Recommendation & Retrieval
• Search and Optimization: Distributed Search
• Humans and AI: User Experience and Usability

Application Category

• Search and Retrieval-Augmented AI: Assisted, interactive, and conversational search
• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: Psychology-informed user models and recommender systems
• Responsible Web: Human-perceived consequences of algorithmic deployment on the web

Abstract

Existing conversational search systems can synthesize information into responses, but they lack principled ways to adapt response formats to users'cognitive states. This paper investigates whether aligning format and distance, which involves matching information granularity and media to users'psychological distance, improves user experience. In a between-subjects experiment (N=464) on travel planning, we crossed two distance dimensions (temporal/spatial x near/far) with four formats varying in granularity (abstract/concrete) and media (text/image-and-text). The experiment established that format--distance alignment reduced users'risk perceptions while increasing decision confidence, perceptions of information usefulness, ease of use, enjoyment, and credibility, and adoption intentions. Concrete formats imposed higher cognitive load, but yielded productive effort when matched to near-distance tasks. Images enhanced concrete but not abstract text, suggesting multimedia benefits depend on complementarity. These findings establish format--distance alignment as a distinctive and important design dimension, enabling systems to tailor response formats to users'psychological distance.

Problem

• conversational search
• psychological distance
• response format
• user experience
• information presentation

Innovation

• format–distance alignment
• conversational search
• psychological distance
• information granularity
• multimedia complementarity