mlsanityData to 7 Oct 2026

Reasonably reasoning AI agents can avoid game-theoretic failures in zero-shot, provably

arXiv 2603.18563 ↗First posted 19 Mar 2026cs.AI cs.MA econ.THcited by 1

On the map: LLM reasoning → Reasoning for agents, planning and code

also in 1 more
Abstract (arXiv)

As autonomous AI agents increasingly mediate online platform markets, a fundamental question emerges: do these markets generate stable strategic outcomes? In repeated strategic environments, the Nash equilibrium provides a natural benchmark for this stability. However, empirical evidence on off-the-shelf LLM agents is mixed, leaving it unclear whether independently deployed agents can converge to equilibrium behavior without explicit strategic post-training. In this paper, we provide an affirmative answer. Extending the Bayesian learning literature in theoretical economics, we prove that AI agents, acting as Bayesian posterior samplers rather than expected utility maximizers, are guaranteed to eventually become weakly close to a Nash equilibrium in infinitely repeated games. We further extend this analysis to settings in which stage payoffs are unknown ex ante, and agents observe only their privately realized stochastic payoffs, and obtain the same convergence guarantees. Finally, we empirically evaluate these theoretical implications across five repeated-game environments, ranging from the Prisoner's Dilemma to marketing promotion games. Taken together, our findings suggest that strategic stability in AI-mediated markets can emerge from the intrinsic reasoning and learning properties of modern AI agents, without the need for unrealistic universal fine-tuning.

Key facts. Cited by 1 paper in the map (data through 7 Oct 2026). Placed in Reasoning for agents, planning and code, one of 17 directions in LLM reasoning. Builds on 31 of its 71 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 19 Mar 2026.

Builds on

31 of 71 references.

Closest ancestors · 2

Same direction, newest first

  1. 2025LLM Strategic Reasoning: Agentic Study through Behavioral Game Theory27 Feb
  2. 2024GTBench: Uncovering the Strategic Reasoning Limitations of LLMs via Game-Theoretic Evaluations19 Feb

Other references · 29

  1. 2021An Explanation of In-context Learning as Implicit Bayesian Inferencecited by 915
  2. 2024Large Language Model based Multi-Agents: A Survey of Progress and Challengescited by 752
  3. 2024From Decoding to Meta-Generation: Inference-time Algorithms for Large Language Modelscited by 136
  4. 2023What and How does In-Context Learning Learn? Bayesian Model Averaging, Parameterization, and Generalizationcited by 112
  5. 2024How Well Can LLMs Negotiate? NegotiationArena Platform and Analysiscited by 93
  6. 2023Can Large Language Models Serve as Rational Players in Game Theory? A Systematic Analysiscited by 91
  7. 2024Embodied LLM Agents Learn to Cooperate in Organized Teamscited by 81
  8. 2023How FaR Are Large Language Models From Agents with Theory-of-Mind?cited by 75
  9. 2024LLMs Are Few-Shot In-Context Low-Resource Language Learnerscited by 68
  10. 2024How Far Are We on the Decision-Making of LLMs? Evaluating LLMs' Gaming Ability in Multi-Agent Environmentscited by 66
  11. 2024Nicer Than Humans: How do Large Language Models Behave in the Prisoner's Dilemma?cited by 62
  12. 2024Game-theoretic LLM: Agent Workflow for Negotiation Gamescited by 55
17 more
  1. 2024Algorithmic Collusion by Large Language Modelscited by 54
  2. 2024Is In-Context Learning in Large Language Models Bayesian? A Martingale Perspectivecited by 51
  3. 2023ALYMPICS: LLM Agents Meet Game Theory -- Exploring Strategic Decision-Making with AI Agentscited by 33
  4. 2024Position: Theory of Mind Benchmarks are Broken for Large Language Modelscited by 30
  5. 2025Will Systems of LLM Agents Cooperate: An Investigation into a Social Dilemmacited by 22
  6. 2025The Coming Crisis of Multi-Agent Misalignment: AI Alignment Must Be a Dynamic and Social Processcited by 21
  7. 2025In-Context Learning Is Provably Bayesian Inference: A Generalization Theory for Meta-Learningcited by 17
  8. 2025Toward Efficient Exploration by Large Language Model Agentscited by 15
  9. 2025Magentic Marketplace: An Open-Source Environment for Studying Agentic Marketscited by 15
  10. 2025Game Theory Meets Large Language Models: A Systematic Survey with Taxonomy and New Frontierscited by 14
  11. 2025FAIRGAME: a Framework for AI Agents Bias Recognition using Game Theorycited by 13
  12. 2025The Automated but Risky Game: Modeling and Benchmarking Agent-to-Agent Negotiations and Transactions in Consumer Marketscited by 12
  13. 2025Evaluating LLM Agent Collusion in Double Auctionscited by 11
  14. 2025The Agentic Economycited by 9
  15. 2024Active Exploration via Autoregressive Generation of Missing Datacited by 8
  16. 2026When Agents Say One Thing and Do Another: Validating Elicited Beliefs from LLMscited by 8
  17. 2026Mind the (DH) Gap! A Contrast in Risky Choices Between Reasoning and Conversational LLMscited by 1

Built on by

Cited by year (2026 to 7 Oct)

Citing papers per year: 2026: 1.

1 paper.

Similar, not cited

Close in wording, no citation either way

  1. 2026Persistent Partners Raise Prices Among Learning Agents
  2. 2025How AI Agents Follow the Herd of AI? Network Effects, History, and Machine Optimism
  3. 2026Strategic Buying Agents
  4. 2025From Debate to Equilibrium: Belief-Driven Multi-Agent LLM Reasoning via Bayesian Nash Equilibrium
  5. 2025Emergent Alignment via Competition
  6. 2026Formal Mechanisms for Market Stability in Self-Interested Agent Societies: A Marketplace Simulation Study
  7. 2025Sequential Causal Normal Form Games: Theory, Computation, and Strategic Signaling ↗
  8. 2026FinEvo: From Isolated Backtests to Ecological Market Games for Multi-Agent Financial Strategy Evolution