# Not All Transparency Is Equal: Source Presentation Effects on Attention, Interaction, and Persuasion in Conversational Search

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.12207 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.12207/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 6 of its 26 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 13 Dec 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 6 of 6)

- [Manipulating and Measuring Model Interpretability](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1802.07810/) (2018)
- [TREC CAsT 2019: The Conversational Assistance Track Overview](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2003.13624/) (2020)
- [Evaluating Stochastic Rankings with Expected Exposure](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2004.13157/) (2020)
- [Conversational Information Seeking](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2201.08808/) (2022)
- [Cognitively Biased Users Interacting with Algorithmically Biased Results in Whole-Session Search on Debated Topics](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.17286/) (2024)
- [Trapped by Expectations: Functional Fixedness in LLM-Enabled Chat Search](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.02074/) (2025)

## Built on by (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [Quantifying Uncertainty in AI Visibility: A Statistical Framework for Generative Search Measurement](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.08924/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Conversational search systems increasingly provide source citations, yet how citation or source presentation formats influence user engagement remains unclear. We conducted a crowdsourcing user experiment with 394 participants comparing four source presentation designs that varied citation visibility and accessibility: collapsible lists, hover cards, footer lists, and aligned sidebars.High-visibility interfaces generated substantially more hovering on sources, though clicking remained infrequent across all conditions. While interface design showed limited effects on user experience and perception measures, it significantly influenced knowledge, interest, and agreement changes. High-visibility interfaces initially reduced knowledge gain and interest, but these positive effects emerged with increasing source usage. The sidebar condition uniquely increased agreement change. Our findings demonstrate that source presentation alone may not enhance engagement and can even reduce it when insufficient sources are provided.