SEARCH TERM PREDICTION

• US 20180039699A1
• Filed: 08/02/2016
• Published: 02/08/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/02/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Target Brands Inc. (Target Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Target Brands Inc. (Target Corporation)
• Inventors: WAN, Howard, KUANR, Priyabrata, BANSAL, Nikhil
• Granted Patent: US 10,643,142 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/3322 using system suggestions G06F16/3325 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 20/00 Machine learning
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 7/01 Probabilistic graphical models, e.g. probabilistic networks

Abstract

A system and computer-implemented method for predicting a search term of a search are disclosed. The method includes building, by a server, a search prediction dictionary database, the search prediction dictionary database including a plurality of search terms and a plurality of prediction scores corresponding to the plurality of search terms; receiving, by the server, one or more characters from a user device over a network, the one or more characters corresponding to the search; identifying, by the server, one or more predicted search terms based on the one or more characters, the identifying including determining one or more of the plurality of search terms including the one or more characters; and providing, by the server, a search term prediction list including the one or more predicted search terms to the user device for display on a display device of the user device.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for predicting a search term of a search, the method comprising:

building, by a server, a search prediction dictionary database, the search prediction dictionary database including a plurality of search terms and a plurality of prediction scores corresponding to the plurality of search terms;

receiving, by the server, one or more characters from a user device over a network, the one or more characters corresponding to the search;

identifying, by the server, one or more predicted search terms based on the one or more characters, the identifying including determining one or more of the plurality of search terms including the one or more characters; and

providing, by the server, a search term prediction list including the one or more predicted search terms to the user device for display on a display device of the user device.

2. The computer-implemented method according to claim 1, wherein providing the search term prediction list includes sending the search term prediction list to the user device over a network.

3. The computer-implemented method according to claim 1, wherein building the search prediction dictionary database includes retrieving search history data from a clickstream database.

4. The computer-implemented method according to claim 3, wherein building the search prediction dictionary database includes creating the plurality of prediction scores for the plurality of search terms, wherein the plurality of prediction scores are used to order the plurality of search terms within the search prediction dictionary database.

5. The computer-implemented method according to claim 1, further comprising providing the search term prediction list when the search term prediction list includes more than a threshold number of search terms.

6. The computer-implemented method according to claim 1, further comprising correcting a spelling of the one or more characters when more than one character are received.

7. The computer-implemented method according to claim 1, wherein identifying the one or more predicted search terms includes using one or more previously submitted search terms identified from context information associated with the user device instead of the one or more search terms in the search prediction dictionary database.

8. The computer-implemented method according to claim 1, wherein identifying the one or more predicted search terms includes identifying search terms including the one or more characters, wherein the search terms include the one or more characters in a location other than a beginning of the one or more search terms.

9. A system for predicting a search term, comprising:

a server that includes;

a search prediction dictionary builder that generates a search prediction dictionary database that stores one or more keywords each associated with one or more prediction scores;

a search term predictor that, in response to receiving at least one character of a search input to a user device, identifies one or more predicted keywords from the one or more keywords in the search prediction dictionary database; and

the search term predictor that receives the at least one character provides a search term prediction list that includes the one or more predicted keywords.

10. The system according to claim 9, wherein the server is connectable to a user device over a network, the user device including a display device and an input device, and the server can receive the at least one character from the user device.

11. The system according to claim 9, wherein the server is connectable to a user device over a network and the server can send the search term prediction list to the user device for display on a display device of the user device.

12. The system according to claim 9, wherein the search prediction dictionary builder generates the search prediction dictionary database based on search and click data stored in a clickstream database.

13. The system according to claim 9, wherein the one or more keywords associated with one or more search prediction scores are ordered based on the one or more search prediction scores in the search term prediction dictionary database.

14. The system according to claim 13, wherein the one or more search prediction scores are based on search and click data stored in a clickstream database.

15. The system according to claim 14, wherein the one or more search prediction scores are based on a hierarchy of user actions, the hierarchy including an add to cart action, a browse search results action, and a search action.

16. The system according to claim 14, wherein the one or more predicted keywords include the at least one character in a location other than a beginning of the one or more keywords in the search prediction dictionary database.

17. A search term prediction system, comprising:

search prediction dictionary building means that generates a search prediction dictionary database that stores one or more keywords associated with one or more prediction scores;

prediction means that identifies one or more predicted search terms from the one or more keywords in the search prediction dictionary database based on at least one character received from an input means of a user device, and that generates a search term prediction list including the one or more predicted search terms and is able to communicate with the user device to send the search term prediction list to the user device for viewing the search term prediction list.

18. The search term prediction system according to claim 17, wherein the prediction means includes prediction scoring means that generates the one or more prediction scores based on search and click data stored in a clickstream database.

19. The search term prediction system according to claim 17, wherein the search term prediction list includes greater than a threshold number of predicted search terms.

20. The search term prediction system according to claim 17, wherein the search term prediction list is ordered based on the one or more prediction scores associated with the one or more keywords in the search prediction dictionary database.