IWILDS'26: The 6th International Workshop on Investigating Learning during Web Search and AI-Mediated Information Access

Abstract

The emergence of conversational AI, retrieval-augmented generation and adaptive recommendation systems has fundamentally reshaped how learners access, evaluate and construct knowledge from the web. Yet our understanding of how these shifts affect learning processes, and how retrieval systems should be designed to support them still remains limited. The sixth edition of the IWILDS workshop series brings together researchers from information retrieval, knowledge management, learning analytics, user modeling and educational psychology to address this gap. The workshop focuses on three interconnected research questions: how learners formulate and reformulate queries and prompts across search, RAG and conversational paradigms; what evaluation frameworks can capture learning outcomes in AI-mediated information environments; and how to construct datasets that reflect contemporary learning-in-the-wild. IWILDS'26 combines paper-based sessions (paper presentations and invited talk) with interactive phases focused on structured discussions about research questions and a collaboration fair. In its sixth year, the workshop builds on a sustained community anchored in IR and learning sciences, returning to CIKM with a sharpened focus aligned with CIKM's core interests in information retrieval, user modeling and knowledge management.