AI-generated personas: representing user needs with generative AI models

The impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies on human-computer interaction (HCI) research and practice is evident, given the multitude of studies investigating the relationship between these domains (Schoonderwoerd et al., 2022; Stawarz et al., 2023; Zanker et al., 2019). The development involves Generative AI (Gen AI) technologies (i.e., models that generate realistic text, images, videos, and other content), with an impact on HCI that is yet to be discovered. One of the core points of HCI research lies in understanding user needs (or wants, pain points) to elicit design requirements that improve the usability and user experience (UX) of systems and user interfaces (Law et al., 2009; Remy et al., 2018). Obtaining insights into these user needs can be done in multiple ways, including carrying out physical or remote user studies (Desolda et al., 2021; Schoonderwoerd et al., 2021), interviews and surveys, or by analyzing social media data to infer users’ pain points (Hedegaard and Simonsen, 2013; Salminen et al., 2022). Finally, these insights can be communicated in different ways, such as through customer journeys (Kaartemo and Helkkula, 2024) or personas (Cooper, 1999).