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The Middle of the Results Page Became the Blind Spot
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.
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.
Limits and context
- 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.
Key claims
Randomized hotel listings show that shopping agents inspect deeper than people but retain a weak, non-monotonic position bias.
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.
Evidence: source-2026-08-25-014
Sources
- arXiv preprint 2608.22697arXiv · primary research
Corrections
No corrections have been recorded for this story.