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From SERPs to Sound: How Search Engine Result Pages and AI-generated Podcasts Interact to Influence User Attitudes on Controversial Topics

arXiv 2601.11282 ↗First posted 16 Jan 2026cs.IR cs.AI cs.HCcited by 0

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Abstract (arXiv)

Compared to search engine result pages (SERPs), AI-generated podcasts represent a relatively new and relatively more passive modality of information consumption, delivering narratives in a naturally engaging format. As these two media increasingly converge in everyday information-seeking behavior, it is essential to explore how their interaction influences user attitudes, particularly in contexts involving controversial, value-laden, and often debated topics. Addressing this need, we aim to understand how information mediums of present-day SERPs and AI-generated podcasts interact to shape the opinions of users. To this end, through a controlled user study (N=483), we investigated user attitudinal effects of consuming information via SERPs and AI-generated podcasts, focusing on how the sequence and modality of exposure shape user opinions. A majority of users in our study corresponded to attitude change outcomes, and we found an effect of sequence on attitude change. Our results further revealed a role of viewpoint bias and the degree of topic controversiality in shaping attitude change, although we found no effect of individual moderators.

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References · 16

  1. 2024A Survey on RAG Meeting LLMs: Towards Retrieval-Augmented Large Language Modelscited by 450
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  10. 2024Sociotechnical Implications of Generative Artificial Intelligence for Information Accesscited by 6
  11. 2024Everything We Hear: Towards Tackling Misinformation in Podcastscited by 5
  12. 2024PAIGE: Examining Learning Outcomes and Experiences with Personalized AI-Generated Educational Podcastscited by 5
4 more
  1. 2024PaperWave: Listening to Research Papers as Conversational Podcasts Scripted by LLMcited by 4
  2. 2025Mind the Gap! Choice Independence in Using Multilingual LLMs for Persuasive Co-Writing Tasks in Different Languagescited by 3
  3. 2024Interactions with Generative Information Retrieval Systemscited by 2
  4. 2024Panmodal Information Interactioncited by 1

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