mlsanityData to 14 Oct 2026

Algorithm of Thoughts: Enhancing Exploration of Ideas in Large Language Models

arXiv 2308.10379 ↗First posted 20 Aug 2023cs.CL cs.AIcited by 92

On the map: LLM reasoning → Test-time compute and efficient thinking

Abstract (arXiv)

Current literature, aiming to surpass the "Chain-of-Thought" approach, often resorts to external modi operandi involving halting, modifying, and then resuming the generation process to boost Large Language Models' (LLMs) reasoning capacities. Due to their myopic perspective, they escalate the number of query requests, leading to increased costs, memory, and computational overheads. Addressing this, we propose the Algorithm of Thoughts -- a novel strategy that propels LLMs through algorithmic reasoning pathways. By employing algorithmic examples fully in-context, this overarching view of the whole process exploits the innate recurrence dynamics of LLMs, expanding their idea exploration with merely one or a few queries. Our technique outperforms earlier single-query methods and even more recent multi-query strategies that employ an extensive tree search algorithms while using significantly fewer tokens. Intriguingly, our results suggest that instructing an LLM using an algorithm can lead to performance surpassing that of the algorithm itself, hinting at LLM's inherent ability to weave its intuition into optimized searches. We probe into the underpinnings of our method's efficacy and its nuances in application. The code and related content can be found in: https://algorithm-of-thoughts.github.io.

Key facts. Cited by 92 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026). Placed in Test-time compute and efficient thinking, one of 17 directions in LLM reasoning. Builds on 29 of its 38 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 20 Aug 2023.

Builds on

29 of 38 references.

Closest ancestors · 4

Same direction, newest first

  1. 2023Tree of Thoughts: Deliberate Problem Solving with Large Language Models17 May
  2. 2023Large Language Model Guided Tree-of-Thought15 May
  3. 2022Language Models (Mostly) Know What They Know11 Jul
  4. 2022STaR: Bootstrapping Reasoning With Reasoning28 Mar

Other references · 25

  1. 2020Language Models are Few-Shot Learnerscited by 32,419
  2. 2022Training language models to follow instructions with human feedbackcited by 15,971
  3. 2021Evaluating Large Language Models Trained on Codecited by 8,320
  4. 2022Self-Consistency Improves Chain of Thought Reasoning in Language Modelscited by 5,708
  5. 2022PaLM: Scaling Language Modeling with Pathwayscited by 5,326
  6. 2022Large Language Models are Zero-Shot Reasonerscited by 4,374
  7. 2021Program Synthesis with Large Language Modelscited by 3,637
  8. 2022Constitutional AI: Harmlessness from AI Feedbackcited by 3,050
  9. 2022Emergent Abilities of Large Language Modelscited by 2,512
  10. 2022Beyond the Imitation Game: Quantifying and extrapolating the capabilities of language modelscited by 1,998
  11. 2022Challenging BIG-Bench Tasks and Whether Chain-of-Thought Can Solve Themcited by 1,807
  12. 2022Least-to-Most Prompting Enables Complex Reasoning in Large Language Modelscited by 1,407
13 more
  1. 2022LaMDA: Language Models for Dialog Applicationscited by 1,220
  2. 2023Language Models Don't Always Say What They Think: Unfaithful Explanations in Chain-of-Thought Promptingcited by 1,122
  3. 2023FrugalGPT: How to Use Large Language Models While Reducing Cost and Improving Performancecited by 853
  4. 2023Measuring Faithfulness in Chain-of-Thought Reasoningcited by 703
  5. 2022Automatic Chain of Thought Prompting in Large Language Modelscited by 688
  6. 2022Towards Reasoning in Large Language Models: A Surveycited by 596
  7. 2022DeepSpeed Inference: Enabling Efficient Inference of Transformer Models at Unprecedented Scalecited by 407
  8. 2023Augmented Language Models: a Surveycited by 403
  9. 2023Faithful Chain-of-Thought Reasoningcited by 288
  10. 2021Sustainable AI: Environmental Implications, Challenges and Opportunitiescited by 242
  11. 2022Leveraging Large Language Models for Multiple Choice Question Answeringcited by 203
  12. 2022Compositional Semantic Parsing with Large Language Modelscited by 95
  13. 2023Synthetic Prompting: Generating Chain-of-Thought Demonstrations for Large Language Modelscited by 61

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Cited by year (2026 to 14 Oct)

Citing papers per year: 2023: 16; 2024: 23; 2025: 40; 2026: 13.

92 papers.

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  1. 2023A Survey on Large Language Model based Autonomous Agentscited by 2,242
  2. 2025Towards Large Reasoning Models: A Survey of Reinforced Reasoning with Large Language Modelscited by 293
  3. 2024Evolution of Heuristics: Towards Efficient Automatic Algorithm Design Using Large Language Modelcited by 268
  4. 2024Data Interpreter: An LLM Agent For Data Sciencecited by 225
  5. 2023Navigate through Enigmatic Labyrinth A Survey of Chain of Thought Reasoning: Advances, Frontiers and Futurecited by 184
  6. 2023Self-Taught Optimizer (STOP): Recursively Self-Improving Code Generationcited by 148
  7. 2024Stream of Search (SoS): Learning to Search in Languagecited by 145
  8. 2024Multi-Step Reasoning with Large Language Models, a Surveycited by 143
  9. 2025Advances and Challenges in Foundation Agents: From Brain-Inspired Intelligence to Evolutionary, Collaborative, and Safe Systemscited by 126
  10. 2024Forest-of-Thought: Scaling Test-Time Compute for Enhancing LLM Reasoningcited by 110
  11. 2025Towards System 2 Reasoning in LLMs: Learning How to Think With Meta Chain-of-Thoughtcited by 109
  12. 2024A Review of Large Language Models and Autonomous Agents in Chemistrycited by 99
38 more
  1. 2023On Generative Agents in Recommendationcited by 90
  2. 2024Language Agents as Optimizable Graphscited by 89
  3. 2025Scaling Test-Time Compute Without Verification or RL is Suboptimalcited by 84
  4. 2024Tell Me More! Towards Implicit User Intention Understanding of Language Model Driven Agentscited by 74
  5. 2023Suspicion-Agent: Playing Imperfect Information Games with Theory of Mind Aware GPT-4cited by 68
  6. 2024StateFlow: Enhancing LLM Task-Solving through State-Driven Workflowscited by 65
  7. 2024Demystifying Chains, Trees, and Graphs of Thoughtscited by 63
  8. 2025Learning Adaptive Parallel Reasoning with Language Modelscited by 58
  9. 2026A Survey of Agentic Reasoning for Large Language Models: Towards Recursively Self-Improving and Collective Agentscited by 50
  10. 2023Reason for Future, Act for Now: A Principled Framework for Autonomous LLM Agents with Provable Sample Efficiencycited by 46
  11. 2024Dualformer: Controllable Fast and Slow Thinking by Learning with Randomized Reasoning Tracescited by 43
  12. 2023LatEval: An Interactive LLMs Evaluation Benchmark with Incomplete Information from Lateral Thinking Puzzlescited by 41
  13. 2025Large Language Models for Planning: A Comprehensive and Systematic Surveycited by 40
  14. 2024System-1.x: Learning to Balance Fast and Slow Planning with Language Modelscited by 35
  15. 2023DetermLR: Augmenting LLM-based Logical Reasoning from Indeterminacy to Determinacycited by 34
  16. 2025PENCIL: Long Thoughts with Short Memorycited by 33
  17. 2025LongProc: Benchmarking Long-Context Language Models on Long Procedural Generationcited by 29
  18. 2025Chain-of-Reasoning: Towards Unified Mathematical Reasoning in Large Language Models via a Multi-Paradigm Perspectivecited by 29
  19. 2025Flash-Searcher: Fast and Effective Web Agents via DAG-Based Parallel Executioncited by 27
  20. 2023ProAgent: From Robotic Process Automation to Agentic Process Automationcited by 26
  21. 2025SWE-Synth: Synthesizing Verifiable Bug-Fix Data to Enable Large Language Models in Resolving Real-World Bugscited by 22
  22. 2025CounterBench: Evaluating and Improving Counterfactual Reasoning in Large Language Modelscited by 21
  23. 2024ChartThinker: A Contextual Chain-of-Thought Approach to Optimized Chart Summarizationcited by 19
  24. 2025Classical Planning with LLM-Generated Heuristics: Challenging the State of the Art with Python Codecited by 18
  25. 2023Applications of Large Scale Foundation Models for Autonomous Drivingcited by 14
  26. 2025HyperTree Planning: Enhancing LLM Reasoning via Hierarchical Thinkingcited by 14
  27. 2023StrategyLLM: Large Language Models as Strategy Generators, Executors, Optimizers, and Evaluators for Problem Solvingcited by 13
  28. 2024How Can LLM Guide RL? A Value-Based Approachcited by 13
  29. 2025Let Me Think! A Long Chain-of-Thought Can Be Worth Exponentially Many Short Onescited by 13
  30. 2023Rational Decision-Making Agent with Internalized Utility Judgmentcited by 11
  31. 2025A Survey of Scaling in Large Language Model Reasoningcited by 10
  32. 2025SPRINT: Enabling Interleaved Planning and Parallelized Execution in Reasoning Modelscited by 10
  33. 2024Professional Agents -- Evolving Large Language Models into Autonomous Experts with Human-Level Competenciescited by 9
  34. 2025Policy Guided Tree Search for Enhanced LLM Reasoningcited by 9
  35. 2025CodeAgents: A Token-Efficient Framework for Codified Multi-Agent Reasoning in LLMscited by 9
  36. 2023Towards A Unified View of Answer Calibration for Multi-Step Reasoningcited by 8
  37. 2024Skin-in-the-Game: Decision Making via Multi-Stakeholder Alignment in LLMscited by 8
  38. 2024Towards Building Specialized Generalist AI with System 1 and System 2 Fusioncited by 8

50 most cited of 92 All 92 (JSON)

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  1. 2026Tree of Thoughts as a Classical Heuristic Search Problem: Formal Foundations and Design Patterns
  2. 2026Beyond Fixed Budgets: Characterizing the Inelasticity and Limitations of Tree-of-Thought Reasoning Strategies
  3. 2025ThoughtProbe: Classifier-Guided LLM Thought Space Exploration via Probing Representations
  4. 2026Policy-Guided Search on Tree-of-Thoughts for Efficient Problem Solving with Bounded Language Model Queries
  5. 2023Why Can Large Language Models Generate Correct Chain-of-Thoughts?
  6. 2026Mean-Field Dynamics of Chain-of-Thought Reasoning in Large Language Models
  7. 2024T2 of Thoughts: Temperature Tree Elicits Reasoning in Large Language Models
  8. 2025Metastable Dynamics of Chain-of-Thought Reasoning: Provable Benefits of Search, RL and Distillation