# CloChat: Understanding How People Customize, Interact, and Experience Personas in Large Language Models

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2402.15265 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.15265/

## Key facts

- Cited by 19 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 29 of its 100 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 23 Feb 2024.

## Builds on (most cited first, 29 of 29)

- [Hierarchical Text-Conditional Image Generation with CLIP Latents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2204.06125/) (2022)
- [Generative Agents: Interactive Simulacra of Human Behavior](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.03442/) (2023)
- [Fine-Tuning Language Models from Human Preferences](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1909.08593/) (2019)
- [A Diversity-Promoting Objective Function for Neural Conversation Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1510.03055/) (2015)
- [Large Language Models Are Human-Level Prompt Engineers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2211.01910/) (2022)
- [Ethical and social risks of harm from Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2112.04359/) (2021)
- [A Multitask, Multilingual, Multimodal Evaluation of ChatGPT on Reasoning, Hallucination, and Interactivity](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.04023/) (2023)
- [Personalizing Dialogue Agents: I have a dog, do you have pets too?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1801.07243/) (2018)
- [Capabilities of GPT-4 on Medical Challenge Problems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.13375/) (2023)
- [A Prompt Pattern Catalog to Enhance Prompt Engineering with ChatGPT](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.11382/) (2023)
- [Wizard of Wikipedia: Knowledge-Powered Conversational agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1811.01241/) (2018)
- [Toxicity in ChatGPT: Analyzing Persona-assigned Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.05335/) (2023)
- [LLM Lies: Hallucinations are not Bugs, but Features as Adversarial Examples](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.01469/) (2023)
- [The Design and Implementation of XiaoIce, an Empathetic Social Chatbot](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1812.08989/) (2018)
- [Neural Approaches to Conversational AI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1809.08267/) (2018)
- [Generative Language Models and Automated Influence Operations: Emerging Threats and Potential Mitigations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2301.04246/) (2023)
- [A Knowledge-Grounded Neural Conversation Model](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1702.01932/) (2017)
- [Training Millions of Personalized Dialogue Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1809.01984/) (2018)
- [How should my chatbot interact? A survey on human-chatbot interaction design](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1904.02743/) (2019)
- [Do LLMs Possess a Personality? Making the MBTI Test an Amazing Evaluation for Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.16180/) (2023)
- [Revealing Persona Biases in Dialogue Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2104.08728/) (2021)
- [Directed Diversity: Leveraging Language Embedding Distances for Collective Creativity in Crowd Ideation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2101.06030/) (2021)
- [Fine-tuning GPT-3 for Russian Text Summarization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2108.03502/) (2021)
- [Uniform Manifold Approximation with Two-phase Optimization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2205.00420/) (2022)
- [Eliciting and Analysing Users' Envisioned Dialogues with Perfect Voice Assistants](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2102.13508/) (2021)
- [Developing a Personality Model for Speech-based Conversational Agents Using the Psycholexical Approach](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2003.06186/) (2020)
- [You Truly Understand What I Need: Intellectual and Friendly Dialogue Agents grounding Knowledge and Persona](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2301.02401/) (2023)
- [Conversational AI-Powered Design: ChatGPT as Designer, User, and Product](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.07406/) (2023)
- [KITLM: Domain-Specific Knowledge InTegration into Language Models for Question Answering](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.03638/) (2023)

## Built on by (most cited first, 19 of 19)

- [Position: Theory of Mind Benchmarks are Broken for Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2412.19726/) (2024)
- [Plurals: A System for Guiding LLMs Via Simulated Social Ensembles](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.17213/) (2024)
- [PersonaFlow: Designing LLM-Simulated Expert Perspectives for Enhanced Research Ideation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.12538/) (2024)
- [PosterMate: Audience-driven Collaborative Persona Agents for Poster Design](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.18572/) (2025)
- [ExploreSelf: Fostering User-driven Exploration and Reflection on Personal Challenges with Adaptive Guidance by Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.09662/) (2024)
- [StorySage: Conversational Autobiography Writing Powered by a Multi-Agent Framework](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.14159/) (2025)
- [Constella: Supporting Storywriters' Interconnected Character Creation through LLM-based Multi-Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.05820/) (2025)
- [PersonaBOT: Bringing Customer Personas to Life with LLMs and RAG](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.17156/) (2025)
- [Persona Alchemy: Designing, Evaluating, and Implementing Psychologically-Grounded LLM Agents for Diverse Stakeholder Representation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.18351/) (2025)
- [ChatGPT and U(X): A Rapid Review on Measuring the User Experience](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.15808/) (2025)
- [DinoCompanion: An Attachment-Theory Informed Multimodal Robot for Emotionally Responsive Child-AI Interaction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.12486/) (2025)
- [NeuroBridge: Using Generative AI to Bridge Cross-neurotype Communication Differences through Neurotypical Perspective-taking](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.23434/) (2025)
- [Human-Human-AI Triadic Programming: Uncovering the Role of AI Agent and the Value of Human Partner in Collaborative Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2601.12134/) (2026)
- [Designing Proactive Thought Partners for Writing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.01588/) (2026)
- [Exploring the Innovation Opportunities for Pre-trained Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.15790/) (2025)
- [The Role of Visualization in LLM-Assisted Knowledge Graph Systems: Effects on User Trust, Exploration, and Workflows](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.21512/) (2025)
- [Exploring User Acceptance and Concerns toward LLM-powered Conversational Agents in Immersive Extended Reality](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.15343/) (2025)
- [Understanding the Use of a Large Language Model-Powered Guide to Make Virtual Reality Accessible for Blind and Low Vision People](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.09964/) (2026)
- [I wanted it to feel more personal: Customization of social AI as AI individualism in practice](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2607.17826/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Large language models (LLMs) have facilitated significant strides in generating conversational agents, enabling seamless, contextually relevant dialogues across diverse topics. However, the existing LLM-driven conversational agents have fixed personalities and functionalities, limiting their adaptability to individual user needs. Creating personalized agent personas with distinct expertise or traits can address this issue. Nonetheless, we lack knowledge of how people customize and interact with agent personas. In this research, we investigated how users customize agent personas and their impact on interaction quality, diversity, and dynamics. To this end, we developed CloChat, an interface supporting easy and accurate customization of agent personas in LLMs. We conducted a study comparing how participants interact with CloChat and ChatGPT. The results indicate that participants formed emotional bonds with the customized agents, engaged in more dynamic dialogues, and showed interest in sustaining interactions. These findings contribute to design implications for future systems with conversational agents using LLMs.