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Instructional Text Across Disciplines: A Survey of Representations, Downstream Tasks, and Open Challenges Toward Capable AI Agents.

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Title: Instructional Text Across Disciplines: A Survey of Representations, Downstream Tasks, and Open Challenges Toward Capable AI Agents.
Authors: Safa, Abdulfattah1,2 (AUTHOR) asafa22@ku.edu.tr, Kapanadze, Tamta2 (AUTHOR), Uzunoğlu, Arda3 (AUTHOR), Şahin, Gözde Gül1,2,4 (AUTHOR)
Source: Computational Linguistics. Jun2026, Vol. 52 Issue 2, p759-829. 71p.
Subjects: Natural language processing, Intelligent agents, User interfaces, Robotic process automation, Language models
Abstract: Recent advances in large language models have demonstrated promising capabilities in following simple instructions through instruction tuning. However, real-world tasks often involve complex, multi-step instructions that remain challenging for current NLP systems. Robust understanding of such instructions is essential for deploying LLMs as general-purpose agents that can be programmed in natural language to perform complex, real-world tasks across domains like robotics, business automation, and interactive systems. Despite growing interest in this area, there is a lack of a comprehensive survey that systematically analyzes the landscape of complex instruction understanding and processing. Through a systematic review of the literature, we analyze available resources, representation schemes, and downstream tasks related to instructional text. Our study examines 181 papers, identifying trends, challenges, and opportunities in this emerging field. We provide AI/NLP researchers with essential background knowledge and a unified view of various approaches to complex instruction understanding, bridging gaps between different research directions and highlighting future research opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Computational Linguistics is the property of MIT Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Natural+language+processing%22">Natural language processing</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Intelligent+agents%22">Intelligent agents</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22User+interfaces%22">User interfaces</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Robotic+process+automation%22">Robotic process automation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Language+models%22">Language models</searchLink>
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  Data: Recent advances in large language models have demonstrated promising capabilities in following simple instructions through instruction tuning. However, real-world tasks often involve complex, multi-step instructions that remain challenging for current NLP systems. Robust understanding of such instructions is essential for deploying LLMs as general-purpose agents that can be programmed in natural language to perform complex, real-world tasks across domains like robotics, business automation, and interactive systems. Despite growing interest in this area, there is a lack of a comprehensive survey that systematically analyzes the landscape of complex instruction understanding and processing. Through a systematic review of the literature, we analyze available resources, representation schemes, and downstream tasks related to instructional text. Our study examines 181 papers, identifying trends, challenges, and opportunities in this emerging field. We provide AI/NLP researchers with essential background knowledge and a unified view of various approaches to complex instruction understanding, bridging gaps between different research directions and highlighting future research opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Computational Linguistics is the property of MIT Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1162/COLI.a.616
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        Text: English
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      – SubjectFull: User interfaces
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      – SubjectFull: Robotic process automation
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      – SubjectFull: Language models
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      – TitleFull: Instructional Text Across Disciplines: A Survey of Representations, Downstream Tasks, and Open Challenges Toward Capable AI Agents.
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              Text: Jun2026
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