Knowledge work demands sustained self-regulation, prioritization, and reflection-yet existing planning tools only partially support these needs. Digital to-do list applications feature task persistence but lack goal representation. Paper-based planning frameworks offer effective planning strategies but cannot adapt to individual users. Conversational AI systems enable flexible reflection but lack persistence and accountability. Moreover, none of these tools address a fundamental challenge: users' expressed demands often diverge from their underlying needs. This paper introduces seneca, a conceptual framework for a personalized, AI-assisted planner that integrates the complementary strengths of these three approaches. seneca combines a conversational agent that scaffolds reflection and asks clarifying questions, a persistent database that tracks goals and behavioral patterns, and a processor that synchronizes information between them. We describe this architecture and outline a phased evaluation strategy combining automated testing with simulated users and longitudinal human studies measuring goal attainment, planning realism, and goal-value alignment.
@article{arxiv.2604.19425,
title = {seneca: A Personalized Conversational Planner},
author = {Simon Bohnen and Gabriel Garbers and Lukas Ellinger and Georg Groh},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2604.19425},
year = {2026}
}
Comments
accepted to the CHI '26 Workshop on Tools for Thought