# Users' Mental Models of Generative AI Chatbot Ecosystems

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.19211 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2501.19211/

## Key facts

- Cited by 7 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 31 Jan 2025.

## Built on by (most cited first, 7 of 7)

- [The Impact of a Chatbot's Ephemerality-Framing on Self-Disclosure Perceptions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.20464/) (2025)
- ["What Did It Actually Do?": Understanding Risk Awareness and Traceability for Computer-Use Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.28551/) (2026)
- [From Use to Oversight: How Mental Models Influence User Behavior and Output in AI Writing Assistants](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.05166/) (2026)
- [Insights into User Interface Innovations from a Design Thinking Workshop at deRSE25](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.18784/) (2025)
- [Privacy and Safety Experiences and Concerns of U.S. Women Using Generative AI for Seeking Sexual and Reproductive Health Information](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.16918/) (2026)
- [CogInstrument: Modeling Cognitive Processes for Bidirectional Human-LLM Alignment in Planning Tasks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.10587/) (2026)
- [Understanding U.S. Users' Security and Privacy Transparency Needs for Consumer-Facing Generative AI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.17270/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

The capability of GenAI-based chatbots, such as ChatGPT and Gemini, has expanded quickly in recent years, turning them into GenAI Chatbot Ecosystems. Yet, users' understanding of how such ecosystems work remains unknown. In this paper, we investigate users' mental models of how GenAI Chatbot Ecosystems work. This is an important question because users' mental models guide their behaviors, including making decisions that impact their privacy. Through 21 semi-structured interviews, we uncovered users' four mental models towards first-party (e.g., Google Gemini) and third-party (e.g., ChatGPT) GenAI Chatbot Ecosystems. These mental models centered around the role of the chatbot in the entire ecosystem. We further found that participants held a more consistent and simpler mental model towards third-party ecosystems than the first-party ones, resulting in higher trust and fewer concerns towards the third-party ecosystems. We discuss the design and policy implications based on our results.