Encoder of Thoughts: Enhancing Planning Ability in Language Agents Through Structural Embedding

Abstract Large Language Models (LLMs), when combined with agent mechanisms, show great promise in applications requiring robust planning ability, such as financial analysis and medical diagnostics. However, the increasingly complex reasoning structures designed to enhance the planning ability of language agents often exceed the processing and comprehension capabilities of LLMs, thereby limiting their effectiveness. To address these challenges, we introduce the Encoder of Thoughts (EoT), a novel reasoning structure modeling method based on graph neural networks. EoT processes the reasoning structures of planning methods through a plug-and-play structural encoder and aligns these structural information with the input space of LLMs, enabling seamless integration with existing language agents. Experiments on multi-step reasoning and plan generation demonstrate that EoT significantly improves the performance of language agents. Moreover, EoT demonstrated stable results when combined with different LLMs and planning algorithms, further underscoring its potential for broader application.