Generating travel queries in response to free-text search queries
First Claim
1. A system, comprising:
- one or more computers and one or more storage devices storing instructions that when executed by the one or more computers cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising;
receiving an input of a free text query, wherein the free text query is received as an input into a search interface for a general search engine presented on a client computing device;
using the free text query for the general search engine to derive terms corresponding to particular travel constraints including terms corresponding to a destination location and a departure date;
for each of the terms corresponding to particular travel constraints, determining a respective probability of the term being related to a request for travel information, comprising;
retrieving user account information corresponding to a user associated with the free text query and popular travel information, wherein the popular-travel information comprises information about travel that is popular with users;
determining the respective probability that the term is related to a request for travel information based on the user account information, the popular travel information, and the free text query;
determining whether a combined probability of the terms being related to a request for travel information exceeds a threshold value, wherein the combined probability is based on the respective probability of each term; and
in response to determining that the combined probability of the terms being related to a request for travel information exceeds the threshold value;
generating a travel query from the terms derived from the free text query, wherein the generated travel query expressly specifies the derived destination location and departure date as travel constraints; and
submitting the travel query to a travel search engine distinct from the general search engine to obtain travel search results based on the travel search query and to present the travel search results based on the travel search query via the client computing device.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for generating travel queries in response to free text queries. One of the methods includes receiving a free text query; generating a travel query from the free text query, wherein the travel query expressly specifies an origin location, a destination location, and a departure date, wherein each of the origin location, the destination location, and the departure date are expressly identified as such in the travel query; and submitting the travel query to a travel search engine. Optionally the method includes obtaining user information about a user associated with the free text query, obtaining popular travel information, and deriving origin or destination locations, or departure or return dates from the free text query, the user information, and the popular-travel information.
45 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A system, comprising:
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one or more computers and one or more storage devices storing instructions that when executed by the one or more computers cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising; receiving an input of a free text query, wherein the free text query is received as an input into a search interface for a general search engine presented on a client computing device; using the free text query for the general search engine to derive terms corresponding to particular travel constraints including terms corresponding to a destination location and a departure date; for each of the terms corresponding to particular travel constraints, determining a respective probability of the term being related to a request for travel information, comprising; retrieving user account information corresponding to a user associated with the free text query and popular travel information, wherein the popular-travel information comprises information about travel that is popular with users; determining the respective probability that the term is related to a request for travel information based on the user account information, the popular travel information, and the free text query; determining whether a combined probability of the terms being related to a request for travel information exceeds a threshold value, wherein the combined probability is based on the respective probability of each term; and in response to determining that the combined probability of the terms being related to a request for travel information exceeds the threshold value; generating a travel query from the terms derived from the free text query, wherein the generated travel query expressly specifies the derived destination location and departure date as travel constraints; and
submitting the travel query to a travel search engine distinct from the general search engine to obtain travel search results based on the travel search query and to present the travel search results based on the travel search query via the client computing device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 18)
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8. A computer-implemented method, comprising:
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receiving, by one or more computing devices associated with a general search engine, a free text query, wherein the free text query is input by a user into a search interface for the general search engine presented on a client computing device; deriving, by the one or more computing devices and using the free text query, terms corresponding to particular travel constraints; for each of the terms corresponding to particular travel constraints, determining a respective probability of the term being related to a request for travel information, comprising; retrieving user account information corresponding to a user associated with the free text query and popular travel information, wherein the popular-travel information comprises information about travel that is popular with users; and determining the respective probability that the term is related to a request for travel information based on the user account information, the popular travel information, and the free text query; determining, by the one or more computing devices, whether a combined probability of the terms being related to a request for travel information exceeds a threshold value, wherein the combined probability is based on the respective probability of each term; in response to determining that the combined probability exceeds the threshold value; generating, by the one or more computing devices, a travel query from the terms derived from the free text query, wherein the generated travel query expressly specifies the travel constraints, and wherein each of the travel constraints are expressly identified as such in the travel query; and submitting, by the one or more computing devices, the travel query to a travel search engine distinct from the general search engine to obtain travel search results based on the travel search query and to present the travel search results based on the travel search query via the client computing device; and in response to the combined probability of the terms being related to a request for travel information not exceeding the threshold value, generating, by the one or more computing devices via the general search engine, search results that satisfy the free text query without using the travel search engine and presenting via the client computing device the search results that satisfy the free text query input into the general search engine. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19)
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17. A non-transitory computer storage medium encoded with a computer program, the program comprising instructions that when executed by one or more computing devices cause the one or more computing devices to perform operations comprising:
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receiving a free text query, wherein the free text query is input by a user into a search interface for a general search engine presented on a client computing device; using the free text query to derive terms corresponding to particular travel constraints; determining, for each of the derived terms, a respective probability of being related to a query for travel information, comprising; retrieving user account information corresponding to a user associated with the free text query and popular travel information, wherein the popular-travel information comprising information about travel that is popular with users; based on the user account information, the popular travel information, and the free text query, determining the respective probability that the term is related to a query for travel information; determining whether a combined probability of the terms being related to a query for travel information exceeds a threshold value; in response to determining that the combined probability exceeds the threshold value; generating a travel query from the terms derived from the free text query, wherein the travel query expressly specifies travel constraints, and wherein each of the travel constraints are expressly identified as such in the travel query; and submitting the travel query to a travel search engine distinct from the general search engine to obtain travel search results based on the travel search query and to present the travel search results based on the travel search query via the client computing device. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification