# Idea2Plan: Exploring AI-Powered Research Planning

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.24891 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.24891/

## Key facts

- Cited by 4 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 46 of its 68 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 28 Oct 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 30 of 46)

- [Proximal Policy Optimization Algorithms](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1707.06347/) (2017)
- [ReAct: Synergizing Reasoning and Acting in Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2210.03629/) (2022)
- [Judging LLM-as-a-Judge with MT-Bench and Chatbot Arena](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.05685/) (2023)
- [Finetuned Language Models Are Zero-Shot Learners](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2109.01652/) (2021)
- [Extracting Training Data from Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2012.07805/) (2020)
- [The AI Scientist: Towards Fully Automated Open-Ended Scientific Discovery](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2408.06292/) (2024)
- [Encouraging Divergent Thinking in Large Language Models through Multi-Agent Debate](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.19118/) (2023)
- [Quantifying Memorization Across Neural Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2202.07646/) (2022)
- [Phi-4 Technical Report](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2412.08905/) (2024)
- [Plan-and-Solve Prompting: Improving Zero-Shot Chain-of-Thought Reasoning by Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.04091/) (2023)
- [GEPA: Reflective Prompt Evolution Can Outperform Reinforcement Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.19457/) (2025)
- [Agent Laboratory: Using LLM Agents as Research Assistants](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2501.04227/) (2025)
- [The AI Scientist-v2: Workshop-Level Automated Scientific Discovery via Agentic Tree Search](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.08066/) (2025)
- [Understanding the planning of LLM agents: A survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.02716/) (2024)
- [Navigating the Digital World as Humans Do: Universal Visual Grounding for GUI Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.05243/) (2024)
- [Can LLMs Generate Novel Research Ideas? A Large-Scale Human Study with 100+ NLP Researchers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.04109/) (2024)
- [PaperBench: Evaluating AI's Ability to Replicate AI Research](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.01848/) (2025)
- [Knowledge Conflicts for LLMs: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.08319/) (2024)
- [ScienceAgentBench: Toward Rigorous Assessment of Language Agents for Data-Driven Scientific Discovery](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.05080/) (2024)
- [Does Fine-Tuning LLMs on New Knowledge Encourage Hallucinations?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.05904/) (2024)
- [ResearchAgent: Iterative Research Idea Generation over Scientific Literature with Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.07738/) (2024)
- [SciMON: Scientific Inspiration Machines Optimized for Novelty](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.14259/) (2023)
- [Generalized Planning in PDDL Domains with Pretrained Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.11014/) (2023)
- [AutoSurvey: Large Language Models Can Automatically Write Surveys](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.10252/) (2024)
- [SciAgents: Automating scientific discovery through multi-agent intelligent graph reasoning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.05556/) (2024)
- [Deep Reinforcement Learning with a Natural Language Action Space](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1511.04636/) (2015)
- [PlanGenLLMs: A Modern Survey of LLM Planning Capabilities](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.11221/) (2025)
- [AgentRxiv: Towards Collaborative Autonomous Research](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.18102/) (2025)
- [Paper2Code: Automating Code Generation from Scientific Papers in Machine Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.17192/) (2025)
- [PaSa: An LLM Agent for Comprehensive Academic Paper Search](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2501.10120/) (2025)

## Built on by (most cited first, 4 of 4)

- [MLReplicate: Benchmarking Autonomous Research Systems for Machine Learning Reproducibility](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.16616/) (2026)
- [Sparking Scientific Creativity via LLM-Driven Interdisciplinary Inspiration](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.12226/) (2026)
- [ResearchStudio-Idea: An Evidence-Grounded Research-Ideation Skill Suite from ML Conference Outcomes](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2607.04439/) (2026)
- [AgentPanel: Toward a New Paradigm for Human--AI Collaboration in Exploring Scientific Questions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.03283/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Large language models (LLMs) have demonstrated significant potential to accelerate scientific discovery as valuable tools for analyzing data, generating hypotheses, and supporting innovative approaches in various scientific fields. In this work, we investigate how LLMs can handle the transition from conceptual research ideas to well-structured research plans. Effective research planning not only supports scientists in advancing their research but also represents a crucial capability for the development of autonomous research agents. Despite its importance, the field lacks a systematic understanding of LLMs' research planning capability. To rigorously measure this capability, we introduce the Idea2Plan task and Idea2Plan Bench, a set of benchmarks built from ICML 2025 and Nature Mental Health papers released after major LLM training cutoffs. Each benchmark instance includes a research idea and a grading rubric capturing the key components of valid plans. We further propose Idea2Plan JudgeEval, a complementary benchmark to assess the reliability of LLM-based judges against expert annotations. Experimental results show that GPT-5 achieves the strongest performance on the benchmark, though substantial headroom remains for improvement. Our study provides new insights into LLMs' capability for research planning and lays the groundwork for future progress.