Conversations in Space: Non-Linear LLM Interaction in Everyday Use

The paper introduces CanvasConvo, a system that presents large language model (LLM) conversations in two synchronized views: a traditional linear chat for ongoing dialogue and a spatial canvas that visualizes the conversation’s branching structure. In a five‑day field study with 24 participants, users tended to switch between the views rather than replace chat entirely; chat remained the primary interaction mode while the canvas was used for overview, revisiting, and exploring alternative paths. The results highlight challenges such as entrenched chat habits, smooth transitions between representations, and understanding branch context, offering insights for designing LLM interfaces that blend linear and non‑linear conversation representations.

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• llms