Suggested Terms for Ambiguous Search Queries
First Claim
1. A method comprising, by a computing device:
- receiving, from a client system of a first user, a character string having n characters entered by the first user into a query field, wherein a term comprising the nth character of the character string is an ambiguous term;
identifying one or more objects corresponding to the ambiguous term based on a calculated probability that the ambiguous term corresponds to the identified objects;
sending, to the client system responsive to receiving the nth character of the character string, instructions for presenting a set of suggested queries to the first user, each suggested query from the set of suggested queries corresponding to one of the identified objects and comprising a reference to the corresponding identified object;
receiving, from the client system, a selection of a suggested query corresponding to a first object of the identified objects; and
sending, to the client system responsive to receiving the selection of the suggested query, instructions for modifying the ambiguous term in the query field to include a reference to the first object.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
In one embodiment, a method includes receiving, from a client system, a character string having n characters entered by the first user into a query field, wherein a term comprising the nth character of the character string is an ambiguous term, identifying one or more objects corresponding to the ambiguous term based on a calculated probability that the ambiguous term corresponds to the identified objects, sending instructions for presenting a set of suggested queries to the first user, each suggested query from the set of suggested queries corresponding to one of the identified objects and comprising a reference to the corresponding identified object, receiving a selection of a suggested query corresponding to a first object of the identified objects, and sending, responsive to receiving the selection of the suggested query, instructions for modifying the ambiguous term in the query field to include a reference to the first object.
9 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method comprising, by a computing device:
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receiving, from a client system of a first user, a character string having n characters entered by the first user into a query field, wherein a term comprising the nth character of the character string is an ambiguous term; identifying one or more objects corresponding to the ambiguous term based on a calculated probability that the ambiguous term corresponds to the identified objects; sending, to the client system responsive to receiving the nth character of the character string, instructions for presenting a set of suggested queries to the first user, each suggested query from the set of suggested queries corresponding to one of the identified objects and comprising a reference to the corresponding identified object; receiving, from the client system, a selection of a suggested query corresponding to a first object of the identified objects; and sending, to the client system responsive to receiving the selection of the suggested query, instructions for modifying the ambiguous term in the query field to include a reference to the first object.
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2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
generating one or more suggested queries corresponding to one or more of the identified objects, respectively, wherein the set of suggested queries presented to the first user comprises one or more of the generated suggested queries.
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3. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the character string having n characters entered by the first user into the query field comprises receiving each character of the character string as the first user at the client system enters the character string into the query field.
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4. The method of claim 3, wherein the query field is part of a user interface of a native application associated with an online social network on the client system of the first user.
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5. The method of claim 3, wherein the query field is part of a webpage of an online social network accessed by a browser client on the client system of the first user.
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6. The method of claim 3, wherein the query field is part of a user interface of a messaging application on the client system of the first user.
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7. The method of claim 1, wherein for each suggested query from the set of suggested queries, the reference to the corresponding identified object is highlighted to indicate the reference corresponds to the ambiguous term.
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8. The method of claim 1, wherein for each suggested query from the set of suggested queries, the suggested query further comprises a snippet comprising contextual information about the identified object corresponding to the suggested query.
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9. The method of claim 1, wherein each suggested query from the set of suggested queries is selectable by the first user to indicate that the identified object referenced in the suggested query matches an intent of the user for the ambiguous term.
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10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
presenting, at the client system, one or more suggested queries from the set of suggested queries, the presentation of the one or more suggested queries enabling the first user to select one of the suggested queries.
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11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
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sending, to the client system, instructions for presenting an updated set of suggested queries to the first user, each suggested query from the updated set of suggested queries corresponding to a particular object and comprising a reference to the corresponding particular object; and receiving, from the client system, a selection of a suggested query from the updated set of suggested queries corresponding to one of the particular objects.
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12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
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generating one or more search results corresponding to the character string modified by the ambiguous term; and sending, to the client system, instructions for presenting a search-results interface to the first user, the search-results interface comprising one or more of the search results.
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13. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying one or more objects corresponding to the ambiguous term comprises:
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determining, for each of a plurality of objects matching the ambiguous term at least in part, a score for the object representing a probability that the ambiguous term corresponds to the object; and identifying each object having a score greater than a threshold score, wherein at least two objects have a score greater than the threshold score.
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14. The method of claim 13, wherein determining the score is based on the degree of separation between the first user and the object within a social graph of an online social network.
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15. The method of claim 13, wherein determining the score is based on a search history associated with the first user.
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16. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
accessing a social graph associated with an online social network, the social graph comprising a plurality of nodes and a plurality of edges connecting the nodes, each of the edges between two of the nodes representing a single degree of separation between them, the nodes comprising; a first node corresponding to the first user; and a plurality of second nodes that each correspond to an object of the plurality of objects associated with the online social network.
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17. The method of claim 16, wherein each suggested query is structured query comprising references to one or more nodes of the plurality of nodes or one or more edges of the plurality of edges.
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18. The method of claim 16, wherein modifying the ambiguous term comprises replacing the ambiguous term with a reference to a node of the plurality of nodes corresponding to the first identified object.
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19. One or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media embodying software that is operable when executed to:
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receive, from a client system of a first user, a character string having n characters entered by the first user into a query field, wherein a term comprising the nth character of the character string is an ambiguous term; identify one or more objects corresponding to the ambiguous term based on a calculated probability that the ambiguous term corresponds to the identified objects; send, to the client system responsive to receiving the nth character of the character string, instructions for presenting a set of suggested queries to the first user, each suggested query from the set of suggested queries corresponding to one of the identified objects and comprising a reference to the corresponding identified object; receive, from the client system, a selection of a suggested query corresponding to a first object of the identified objects; and send, to the client system responsive to receiving the selection of the suggested query, instructions for modifying the ambiguous term in the query field to include a reference to the first object.
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20. A system comprising:
- one or more processors; and
a memory coupled to the processors comprising instructions executable by the processors, the processors operable when executing the instructions to;receive, from a client system of a first user, a character string having n characters entered by the first user into a query field, wherein a term comprising the nth character of the character string is an ambiguous term; identify one or more objects corresponding to the ambiguous term based on a calculated probability that the ambiguous term corresponds to the identified objects; send, to the client system responsive to receiving the nth character of the character string, instructions for presenting a set of suggested queries to the first user, each suggested query from the set of suggested queries corresponding to one of the identified objects and comprising a reference to the corresponding identified object; receive, from the client system, a selection of a suggested query corresponding to a first object of the identified objects; and send, to the client system responsive to receiving the selection of the suggested query, instructions for modifying the ambiguous term in the query field to include a reference to the first object.
- one or more processors; and
Specification