User Simulation for Evaluating Information Access Systems

With the emergence of various information access systems exhibiting increasing complexity, there is a critical need for sound and scalable means of automatic evaluation. To address this challenge, user simulation emerges as a promising solution. This half-day tutorial focuses on providing a thorough understanding of user simulation techniques designed specifically for evaluation purposes. We systematically review major research progress, covering both general frameworks for designing user simulators, and specific models and algorithms for simulating user interactions with search engines, recommender systems, and conversational assistants. We also highlight some important future research directions.