arXiv:2511.04541v2 Announce Type: replace-cross
Abstract: Slate recommender systems (RecSys) present users with ordered sets of interacting items (e.g., playlists). We investigate whether large language models (LLMs) can articulate pairwise preferences between slates for synthetic A/B testing of slate RecSys. We introduce a validation protocol measuring the alignment of synthetic preferences with classical RecSys metrics and their compliance with preference axioms, and use it to characterise how LLM pre-training and configuration affect slate preference articulation. Combined with the generalized Rao-Kupper model, synthetic LLM-based A/B testing recovers rankings that remain stable across utility weightings, whereas off-policy estimators are reliable only when the target utility matches the logged behavior. We position it as a screening stage between off-policy evaluation and live experiments: not a replacement for A/B testing, but a way to reserve its cost for the most promising candidates.
Abstract: Slate recommender systems (RecSys) present users with ordered sets of interacting items (e.g., playlists). We investigate whether large language models (LLMs) can articulate pairwise preferences between slates for synthetic A/B testing of slate RecSys. We introduce a validation protocol measuring the alignment of synthetic preferences with classical RecSys metrics and their compliance with preference axioms, and use it to characterise how LLM pre-training and configuration affect slate preference articulation. Combined with the generalized Rao-Kupper model, synthetic LLM-based A/B testing recovers rankings that remain stable across utility weightings, whereas off-policy estimators are reliable only when the target utility matches the logged behavior. We position it as a screening stage between off-policy evaluation and live experiments: not a replacement for A/B testing, but a way to reserve its cost for the most promising candidates.
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