{"ID":2897774,"CreatedAt":"2026-06-01T04:54:23.091178241Z","UpdatedAt":"2026-06-01T04:54:23.091178241Z","DeletedAt":null,"paper_url":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.05537","arxiv_id":"2507.05537","title":"Information Needs and Practices Supported by ChatGPT","abstract":"This study considers ChatGPT as an information source, investigating the information needs that people come to ChatGPT with and the information practices that ChatGPT supports, through a qualitative content analysis of 205 user vignettes. The findings show that ChatGPT is used in a range of life domains (home/family, work, leisure, etc.) and for a range of human needs (writing/editing, learning, simple programming tasks, etc.), constituting the information needs that people use ChatGPT to address. Related to these information needs, the findings show six categories of information practices that ChatGPT supports: Writing, Deciding, Identifying, Ideating, Talking, and Critiquing. This work suggests that, in the AI age, information need should be conceptualized not just as a matter of \"getting questions answered\" or even \"making sense,\" but as skillfully coping in the world, a notion that includes both understanding and action. This study leads to numerous opportunities for future work at the junction of generative AI and information needs, seeking, use and experience.","short_abstract":"This study considers ChatGPT as an information source, investigating the information needs that people come to ChatGPT with and the information practices that ChatGPT supports, through a qualitative content analysis of 205 user vignettes. The findings show that ChatGPT is used in a range of life domains (home/family, w...","url_abs":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.05537","url_pdf":"https://arxiv.org/pdf/2507.05537v1","authors":"[\"Tim Gorichanaz\"]","published":"2025-07-07T23:21:20Z","proceeding":"cs.HC","tasks":"[\"cs.HC\",\"cs.IR\"]","methods":"[]","has_code":false}