# ComPeer: A Generative Conversational Agent for Proactive Peer Support

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2407.18064 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.18064/

## Key facts

- Cited by 24 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Placed in Social simulation and multi-agent debate, one of 16 directions in LLM agents and tool use.
- Builds on 8 of its 100 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 25 Jul 2024.

## Placed in

- LLM agents and tool use / [Social simulation and multi-agent debate](https://mlsanity.com/agents/social-simulation-and-multi-agent-debate/)

## Builds on (most cited first, 8 of 8)

- [Generative Agents: Interactive Simulacra of Human Behavior](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.03442/) (2023)
- [A Survey of Hallucination in Large Foundation Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.05922/) (2023)
- [Multi-Agent Collaboration: Harnessing the Power of Intelligent LLM Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.03314/) (2023)
- [Towards Emotional Support Dialog Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.01144/) (2021)
- [Improving Multi-turn Emotional Support Dialogue Generation with Lookahead Strategy Planning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2210.04242/) (2022)
- [How should my chatbot interact? A survey on human-chatbot interaction design](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1904.02743/) (2019)
- [Understanding Chatbot-mediated Task Management](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1802.03109/) (2018)
- [Powering an AI Chatbot with Expert Sourcing to Support Credible Health Information Access](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2301.10710/) (2023)

## Built on by (most cited first, 24 of 24)

- [Towards Dynamic Theory of Mind: Evaluating LLM Adaptation to Temporal Evolution of Human States](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.17663/) (2025)
- [ProactiveVA: Proactive Visual Analytics with LLM-Based UI Agent](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.18165/) (2025)
- [Toward Personalized LLM-Powered Agents: Foundations, Evaluation, and Future Directions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.22680/) (2026)
- [ProMemAssist: Exploring Timely Proactive Assistance Through Working Memory Modeling in Multi-Modal Wearable Devices](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.21378/) (2025)
- [ProPerSim: Developing Proactive and Personalized AI Assistants through User-Assistant Simulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.21730/) (2025)
- [ProactiveEval: A Unified Evaluation Framework for Proactive Dialogue Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.20973/) (2025)
- [LLAMAPIE: Proactive In-Ear Conversation Assistants](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.04066/) (2025)
- [The Impact of a Chatbot's Ephemerality-Framing on Self-Disclosure Perceptions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.20464/) (2025)
- [HealthGenie: Empowering Users with Healthy Dietary Guidance through Knowledge Graph and Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.14594/) (2025)
- [Carbon and Silicon, Coexist or Compete? A Survey on Human-AI Interactions in Agent-based Modeling and Simulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.18145/) (2025)
- [Does My Chatbot Have an Agenda? Understanding Human and AI Agency in Human-Human-like Chatbot Interaction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2601.22452/) (2026)
- [ProActor: Timing-Aware Reinforcement Learning for Proactive Task Scheduling Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.24900/) (2026)
- [AI and My Values: User Perceptions of LLMs' Ability to Extract, Embody, and Explain Human Values from Casual Conversations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2601.22440/) (2026)
- [Enhancing User Engagement in Socially-Driven Dialogue through Interactive LLM Alignments](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.21497/) (2025)
- [Multi-Agent Systems Shape Social Norms for Prosocial Behavior Change](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.07433/) (2026)
- [Generative Experiences for Digital Mental Health Interventions: Evidence from a Randomized Study](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.07558/) (2026)
- ["Excuse me, may I say something..." CoLabScience, A Proactive AI Assistant for Biomedical Discovery and LLM-Expert Collaborations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.15588/) (2026)
- [Exposure to Content Written by Large Language Models Can Reduce Stigma Around Opioid Use Disorder in Online Communities](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.10501/) (2025)
- ["Is This Really a Human Peer Supporter?": Misalignments Between Peer Supporters and Experts in LLM-Supported Interactions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.09354/) (2025)
- ["I Said Things I Needed to Hear Myself": Peer Support as an Emotional, Organisational, and Sociotechnical Practice in Singapore](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.09362/) (2025)
- [Investigating AI in Peer Support via Multi-Module System-Driven Embodied Conversational Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.22269/) (2025)
- [Deco: Extending Cherished Physical Objects into AI Companion Agents through Dual Embodiment](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.03882/) (2026)
- [Toward Natural and Companionable Virtual Agents via Cross-Temporal Emotional Modeling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.15812/) (2026)
- [From Momentary Emotion Inference to Sustained Emotion Support: Evaluating a Companion Agent in a Longitudinal Study](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.16344/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Conversational Agents (CAs) acting as peer supporters have been widely studied and demonstrated beneficial for people's mental health. However, previous peer support CAs either are user-initiated or follow predefined rules to initiate the conversations, which may discourage users to engage and build relationships with the CAs for long-term benefits. In this paper, we develop ComPeer, a generative CA that can proactively offer adaptive peer support to users. ComPeer leverages large language models to detect and reflect significant events in the dialogue, enabling it to strategically plan the timing and content of proactive care. In addition, ComPeer incorporates peer support strategies, conversation history, and its persona into the generative messages. Our one-week between-subjects study (N=24) demonstrates ComPeer's strength in providing peer support over time and boosting users' engagement compared to a baseline user-initiated CA.