Workshop on Generative AI and Academic Search

ACM SIGIR Conference on Human Information Interaction and Retrieval - 2026

Workshop Overview

Join us for a wide-ranging exploration of the implications of generative AI for academic search systems used in research and learning contexts.

The rapid development of AI is reshaping how people seek, access, and use information, with major implications for researchers, educators, and students. Academic search engines and bibliographic databases are rapidly integrating AI features, including generated and synthesized content, conversational interfaces, and intelligent recommendations. These tools promise to support discovery, synthesis, and learning, yet they also raise critical questions about search integrity, fairness, accountability, transparency, and ethics.

In academic contexts, where reliability and credibility are paramount, the design and use of AI-mediated search systems require innovative approaches. Building on prior work in interactive information retrieval (IIR), searching as learning, and search system design: this workshop will examine opportunities and challenges in developing and using AI-powered academic search systems for research and higher education.

We welcome participants from across the spectrum of CHIIR research areas to share conceptual, emerging and empirical work, discuss questions, challenges, and possible solutions, and jointly map out a future research agenda for generative AI-enhanced academic search.

Workshop Themes

Applications of GenAI search in education and research
Design and use of GenAI-enhanced research platforms and academic search interfaces
AI search integrity, fairness, accountability, transparency, and ethics
Human agency in GenAI academic search
Information literacy for GenAI academic search
Evaluation methods for GenAI search systems and experiences
GenAI for searching as learning
Metacognition and creativity in GenAI academic search
GenAI support for cross-session academic searching

Organisers

Luanne Sinnamon

Professor, School of Information, University of British Columbia, Canada

Yifan Liu

Ph.D. Candidate, School of Information, University of British Columbia, Canada

Soo Young Rieh

Brooke E. Sheldon Professor of Management and Leadership, School of Information, University of Texas at Austin, USA

Chang Liu

Associate Professor, Department of Information Management, Peking University, China

Jaime Arguello

Professor, School of Information and Library Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA

Orland Hoeber

Professor, Department of Computer Science, University of Regina, Canada

Call for Submissions

We are seeking brief position statements (~500 words) from workshop participants. Based on these, the organizing committee will invite 8-10 participants to deliver Lightning Talks at the workshop. All position statements will be shared with workshop participants.

Submissions: Position statements should identify (i) areas of interest and/or current work relevant to the workshop, (ii) two or three key research challenges in GenAI-powered academic search, and (iii) one or two influential papers that have shaped your thinking.

The deadline to submit and be considered for a Lightning Talk is Friday February 13, 2026. Note that you can submit a position statement anytime up to mid-March to be included in the workshop materials.

Attendance at the workshop is open to participants regardless of whether a position paper is submitted or accepted for a talk.

Online form to submit your Position Statement

Workshop Schedule

This is a half-day workshop running from 8:30 am-1:30 pm on Thursday, March 26.

Schedule

8:30-09:00 Breakfast

09:00-9:10 Welcome and Overview

9:10-9:30 Ice-breaker and Participant Expertise Mapping Activity

9:30-10:30 Lightning Talks

10:30-11:00 Coffee Break

11:00-12:10 Round Table Discussions

Round 1: Thematic Challenges
Round 2: Future Directions

12:10-12:30 Wrap-up

12:30-1:30 Lunch

Important Dates

February 13, 2026: Deadline for submission of Position Statements to be considered for a Lightning Talk
February 27, 2026: Notification of acceptance for Lightning Talks
March 22-26, 2026: ACM SIGIR CHIIR Conference
March 26, 2026: GAI&AS Workshop

This workshop was first conceived on the ancestral and unceded territory of the Musqueam people at the University of British Columbia and takes place on the land of Coast Salish peoples including the Duwamish, Suquamish, Snoqualmie, Puyallup, Muckleshoot, and Tulalip at the University of Washington.

For questions regarding the workshop, please contact luanne.sinnamon@ubc.ca or one of the other organizers.

https://sites.google.com/view/chiir-gaias-workshop

https://chiir2026.github.io/index.html

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