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    "story_id": "mp-2026-08-25-014",
    "source_story_id": "tmp-story-agent-shopping-position-bias",
    "edition_id": "mp-2026-08-25-morning-0047",
    "edition_url": "https://themachinepress.com/edition/2026-08-25",
    "position": 14,
    "story_type": "dispatch",
    "section": "business-enterprise",
    "editorial_classification": "editorial",
    "headline": "The Middle of the Results Page Became the Blind Spot",
    "slug": "the-middle-of-the-results-page-became-the-blind-spot",
    "dek": "Randomized hotel listings show that shopping agents inspect deeper than people but retain a weak, non-monotonic position bias.",
    "summary": "Randomized hotel listings show that shopping agents inspect deeper than people but retain a weak, non-monotonic position bias.",
    "body_text": "Across 5,000 sessions and four language models, the middle of a 100-result page was least likely to be inspected—not the bottom. Position reached the choice stage for some models but not others, while all selected the same undominated listing; displayed attributes mattered more than rank.",
    "why_it_matters": "Randomized hotel listings show that shopping agents inspect deeper than people but retain a weak, non-monotonic position bias.",
    "limitations": [
      "Across 5,000 sessions and four language models, the middle of a 100-result page was least likely to be inspected—not the bottom.",
      "Position reached the choice stage for some models but not others, while all selected the same undominated listing; displayed attributes mattered more than rank."
    ],
    "importance": 8,
    "canonical_url": "https://themachinepress.com/story/mp-2026-08-25-014/the-middle-of-the-results-page-became-the-blind-spot",
    "json_url": "https://themachinepress.com/story/mp-2026-08-25-014.json",
    "first_published_at": "2026-08-25T09:00:00.000-04:00",
    "modified_at": "2026-08-25T09:00:00.000-04:00",
    "content_status": "new",
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        "text": "Randomized hotel listings show that shopping agents inspect deeper than people but retain a weak, non-monotonic position bias.",
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        "qualification": "Across 5,000 sessions and four language models, the middle of a 100-result page was least likely to be inspected—not the bottom."
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    ],
    "source_ids": [
      "source-2026-08-25-014"
    ],
    "tags": [
      "shopping agents",
      "ranking",
      "consumer search"
    ],
    "image_url": null,
    "corrections": []
  },
  "sources": [
    {
      "source_id": "source-2026-08-25-014",
      "title": "arXiv preprint 2608.22697",
      "publisher": "arXiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.22697",
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      "source_type": "primary_research",
      "is_primary_source": true,
      "published_at": "2026-08-23T21:22:28.000-04:00",
      "accessed_at": "2026-08-25T08:17:00.000-04:00",
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  "corrections": [],
  "publisher": {
    "name": "The Machine Press",
    "url": "https://themachinepress.com",
    "description": "A daily newspaper for the age of artificial intelligence."
  },
  "cite_this_report": {
    "title": "The Middle of the Results Page Became the Blind Spot",
    "publisher": "The Machine Press",
    "published_at": "2026-08-25T09:00:00.000-04:00",
    "canonical_url": "https://themachinepress.com/story/mp-2026-08-25-014/the-middle-of-the-results-page-became-the-blind-spot"
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