SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PERSONALIZED SEARCH

• US 20100138413A1
• Filed: 12/03/2008
• Published: 06/03/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/03/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PayPal, Inc. (PayPal Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: PayPal, Inc. (PayPal Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Wu, Xiaoyuan, Hu, Wenyan, Wang, Qiang, Bolivar, Alvaro
• Granted Patent: US 9,460,212 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/732
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation

Abstract

A system and method for personalized search. The system includes a search engine that receives search input from a user and a user identification and generates a search result based on the search input; and a profiling engine to gather profile data, generate a user profile associated with a user, and rank the search result personalized to the specific user using the user profile.

Claims

1. A method for providing search results on a search engine, the method comprising:

gathering a plurality of profile data;

generating a user profile associated with a user identification using the plurality of profile data;

receiving a search input from a user and the user identification;

generating a search result comprising a plurality of search result items based on the search input; and

creating a ranked search result personalized to the specific user using the user profile.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of profile data includes a history of the user'"'"'s activities.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of profile data includes a user'"'"'s personal information.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the user'"'"'s personal information includes user aspect information.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of profile data includes user satisfaction information.

6. The method of claim 1, said method further comprising filtering the search result.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein creating a ranked search result personalized to the specific user using the user profile further comprises:

identifying a user preferred category for the user based on the user profile and the search input from the user;

identifying a category for each of the plurality of search result items; and

ranking the plurality of search result items based on the similarity between the search result item category and the user preferred category.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein creating a ranked search result personalized to the specific user using the user profile further comprises:

identifying a plurality of user preferred categories for the user based on the user profile and the search input from the user;

wherein the plurality of user preferred categories are ranked based on the user profile;

identifying a category for each of the plurality of search result items; and

ranking the plurality of search result items based on the similarity between the search result item category and the plurality of ranked user preferred categories.

9. The method of claim 4, wherein creating a ranked search result personalized to the specific user using the user profile further comprises:

identifying a plurality of characteristics for each of the plurality of search result items; and

ranking the plurality of search result items based on the similarity between the plurality of characteristics for each of the plurality of search result items and the user aspect information.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein creating a ranked search result personalized to the specific user using the user profile further comprises:

identifying a plurality of feature scores;

identifying a weight for each of the plurality of feature scores;

determining each of the plurality of feature scores for each of the plurality of search result items;

determining a total score for each of the plurality of search result items based on the feature scores for each of the plurality of search result items and the weights for each of the plurality of feature scores; and

ranking the plurality of search result items based on the total score.

11. The method of claim 10, said method further comprising:

identifying a user preferred category for the user based on the user profile and the search input from the user;

wherein the weight for each of the plurality of feature scores is dependent on the preferred category for the user.

26. A machine-readable medium for storing a sequence of instructions that, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform the computer-implemented method of claim 1.

12. A system for providing search results on a search engine, the system comprising:

a search engine;

to receive a search input from a user and a user identification; and

to generate a search result comprising a plurality of search result items based on the user input from the user; and

a profiling engine;

to gather a plurality of profile data;

to generate a user profile associated with the user identification using the plurality of profile data; and

to create a ranked search result personalized to the specific user using the user profile.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the plurality of profile data includes a history of the user'"'"'s activities.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the plurality of profile data includes a user'"'"'s personal information.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the user'"'"'s personal information includes user aspect information.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein the plurality of profile data includes user satisfaction information.

17. The system of claim 12, wherein the search engine is to filter the search result.

18. The system of claim 12, wherein the profiling engine is to:

identify a user preferred category for the user based on the user profile and the search input from the user;

identify a category for each of the plurality of search result items; and

rank the plurality of search result items based on the similarity between the search result item category and the user preferred category.

19. The system of claim 12, wherein the profiling engine is to:

identify a plurality of user preferred categories for the user based on the user profile and the search input from the user;

wherein the plurality of user preferred categories are ranked based on the user profile;

identify a category for each of the plurality of search result items; and

rank the plurality of search result items based on the similarity between the search result item category and the plurality of ranked user preferred categories.

20. The system of claim 15, wherein the profiling engine is to:

identify a plurality of characteristics for each of the plurality of search result items; and

rank the plurality of search result items based on the similarity between the plurality of characteristics for each of the plurality of search result items and the user aspect information.

21. The system of claim 12, wherein the profiling engine is to:

identify a plurality of feature scores;

identify a weight for each of the plurality of feature scores;

determine each of the plurality of feature scores for each of the plurality of search result items;

determine a total score for each of the plurality of search result items based on the feature scores for each of the plurality of search result items and the weights for each of the plurality of feature scores; and

rank the plurality of search result items based on the total score.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the profiling engine is to:

identify a user preferred category for the user based on the user profile and the search input from the user;

wherein the weight for each of the plurality of feature scores is dependent on the preferred category for the user.

23. A system to provide search results, the system comprising:

a first means;

to receive a search input from a user and a user identification; and

to generate a search result comprising a plurality of search result items based on the user input; and

a second means;

to gather a plurality of profile data;

to generate a user profile associated with the user identification using the plurality of profile data; and

to create a ranked search result personalized to the specific user using the user profile.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the second means is to:

identify a plurality of feature scores;

identify a weight for each of the plurality of feature scores;

for each feature score, determine the feature score for each of the plurality of search result items;

determine a total score for each of the plurality of search result items based on the feature scores for each of the plurality of search result items and the weights for each of the plurality of feature scores; and

rank the plurality of search result items based on the total score.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the second means is to:

identify a user preferred category for the user based on the user profile and the search input from the user;

wherein the weight for each of the plurality of feature scores is dependent on the preferred category for the user.