mlsanityData to 7 Oct 2026

"We Need Structured Output": Towards User-centered Constraints on Large Language Model Output

arXiv 2404.07362 ↗First posted 10 Apr 2024cs.HCcited by 46

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Abstract (arXiv)

Large language models can produce creative and diverse responses. However, to integrate them into current developer workflows, it is essential to constrain their outputs to follow specific formats or standards. In this work, we surveyed 51 experienced industry professionals to understand the range of scenarios and motivations driving the need for output constraints from a user-centered perspective. We identified 134 concrete use cases for constraints at two levels: low-level, which ensures the output adhere to a structured format and an appropriate length, and high-level, which requires the output to follow semantic and stylistic guidelines without hallucination. Critically, applying output constraints could not only streamline the currently repetitive process of developing, testing, and integrating LLM prompts for developers, but also enhance the user experience of LLM-powered features and applications. We conclude with a discussion on user preferences and needs towards articulating intended constraints for LLMs, alongside an initial design for a constraint prototyping tool.

Key facts. Cited by 46 papers in the map (data through 7 Oct 2026). First posted on arXiv 10 Apr 2024.

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Citing papers per year: 2024: 8; 2025: 28; 2026: 10.

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  1. 2024Automata-based constraints for language model decodingcited by 49
  2. 2024PentestAgent: Incorporating LLM Agents to Automated Penetration Testingcited by 46
  3. 2025Vibe Coding vs. Agentic Coding: Fundamentals and Practical Implications of Agentic AIcited by 39
  4. 2025VeriPlan: Integrating Formal Verification and LLMs into End-User Planningcited by 19
  5. 2025Towards Visual Text Grounding of Multimodal Large Language Modelcited by 18
  6. 2025SLOT: Structuring the Output of Large Language Modelscited by 18
  7. 2024RuleR: Improving LLM Controllability by Rule-based Data Recyclingcited by 11
  8. 2025TabGen-ICL: Residual-Aware In-Context Example Selection for Tabular Data Generationcited by 10
  9. 2025CallNavi, A Challenge and Empirical Study on LLM Function Calling and Routingcited by 6
  10. 2025TableTalk: Scaffolding Spreadsheet Development with a Language Agentcited by 5
  11. 2025Generating Structured Plan Representation of Procedures with LLMscited by 5
  12. 2025Quantifying the Impact of Structured Output Format on Large Language Models through Causal Inferencecited by 5
34 more
  1. 2026Breaking the Chain: A Causal Analysis of LLM Faithfulness to Intermediate Structurescited by 5
  2. 2025Retrieval-Augmented Generation of Ontologies from Relational Databasescited by 4
  3. 2025EpidemIQs: Prompt-to-Paper LLM Agents for Epidemic Modeling and Analysiscited by 4
  4. 2024CogErgLLM: Exploring Large Language Model Systems Design Perspective Using Cognitive Ergonomicscited by 3
  5. 2025Cancer Type, Stage and Prognosis Assessment from Pathology Reports using LLMscited by 3
  6. 2025Large-Scale Constraint Generation -- Can LLMs Parse Hundreds of Constraints?cited by 3
  7. 2025A Call to Action for a Secure-by-Design Generative AI Paradigmcited by 3
  8. 2025OntoLogX: Ontology-Guided Knowledge Graph Extraction from Cybersecurity Logs with Large Language Modelscited by 3
  9. 2026Constraint Tax in Open-Weight LLMs: An Empirical Study of Tool Calling Suppression Under Structured Output Constraintscited by 3
  10. 2024ExpressivityBench: Can LLMs Communicate Implicitly?cited by 2
  11. 2025ACAI for SBOs: AI Co-creation for Advertising and Inspiration for Small Business Ownerscited by 2
  12. 2025Understanding User Experiences of Computer Use Agents: Design Space and Opportunities for Building Agent UX Prototypescited by 2
  13. 2024The use of GPT-4o and Other Large Language Models for the Improvement and Design of Self-Assessment Scales for Measurement of Interpersonal Communication Skillscited by 1
  14. 2025Gensors: Authoring Personalized Visual Sensors with Multimodal Foundation Models and Reasoningcited by 1
  15. 2025Detecting and Mitigating DDoS Attacks with AI: A Surveycited by 1
  16. 2025Understanding Prompt Programming Tasks and Questionscited by 1
  17. 2025You May Speak Freely: Improving the Fine-Grained Visual Recognition Capabilities of Multimodal Large Language Models with Answer Extractioncited by 1
  18. 2026Using Small Language Models to Reverse-Engineer Machine Learning Pipelines Structurescited by 1
  19. 2026Leveraging Large Language Models for Causal Discovery: a Constraint-based, Argumentation-driven Approachcited by 1
  20. 2026Automating Cloud Security and Forensics Through a Secure-by-Design Generative AI Frameworkcited by 1
  21. 2024DrLLM: Prompt-Enhanced Distributed Denial-of-Service Resistance Method with Large Language Modelscited by 0
  22. 2024Software Performance Engineering for Foundation Model-Powered Softwarecited by 0
  23. 2025Semantic Integrity Constraints: Declarative Guardrails for AI-Augmented Data Processing Systemscited by 0
  24. 2025ReflectivePrompt: Reflective evolution in autoprompting algorithmscited by 0
  25. 2025Guided Decoding and Its Critical Role in Retrieval-Augmented Generationcited by 0
  26. 2025Interactive In-Meeting Speaker Correction with Human Feedbackcited by 0
  27. 2025Which Programming Language and Model Work Best With LLM-as-a-Judge For Code Retrieval?cited by 0
  28. 2025SmartDoc: A Context-Aware Agentic Method Comment Generation Plugincited by 0
  29. 2025Specification and Detection of LLM Code Smellscited by 0
  30. 2026AI Agent for Reverse-Engineering Legacy Finite-Difference Code and Translating to Devitocited by 0
  31. 2026From Performance to Purpose: A Sociotechnical Taxonomy for Evaluating Large Language Model Utilitycited by 0
  32. 2026U-Define: Designing User Workflows for Hard and Soft Constraints in LLM-Based Planningcited by 0
  33. 2026Discourse-Aware Policy Analysis with Argumentation: A Hybrid LLM-Symbolic Framework for Disaster Governancecited by 0
  34. 2026In-Place Instruction Following in Diffusion Language Modelscited by 0