Can LLMs Assess Personality? Validating Conversational AI for Trait Profiling

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2602.15848v1
• Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2026 15:46:42 GMT
• Title: Can LLMs Assess Personality? Validating Conversational AI for Trait Profiling
• Authors: Andrius Matšenas, Anet Lello, Tõnis Lees, Hans Peep, Kim Lilii Tamm,
• Abstract summary: This study validates Large Language Models (LLMs) as a dynamic alternative to questionnaire-based personality assessment.<n>Using a within-subjects experiment, we compared Big Five personality scores derived from guided LLM conversations against the gold-standard IPIP-50 questionnaire.<n>Results indicate moderate convergent validity, with Conscientiousness, Openness, and Neuroticism scores statistically equivalent between methods.
• Score: 0.0
• License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Abstract: This study validates Large Language Models (LLMs) as a dynamic alternative to questionnaire-based personality assessment. Using a within-subjects experiment (N=33), we compared Big Five personality scores derived from guided LLM conversations against the gold-standard IPIP-50 questionnaire, while also measuring user-perceived accuracy. Results indicate moderate convergent validity (r=0.38-0.58), with Conscientiousness, Openness, and Neuroticism scores statistically equivalent between methods. Agreeableness and Extraversion showed significant differences, suggesting trait-specific calibration is needed. Notably, participants rated LLM-generated profiles as equally accurate as traditional questionnaire results. These findings suggest conversational AI offers a promising new approach to traditional psychometrics.

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