Integrating applications within search results

• US 8,762,360 B2
• Filed: 05/06/2011
• Issued: 06/24/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/06/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Jiang, Li, Mahajan, Milind, Kumar, Amit, Viola, Paul Alfred, Ahari, Sanaz, Macbeth, Steve
• Primary Examiner(s): Ruiz, Angelica
• Application Number:
  US13/102,536
• Publication Number:
  US 20120284247A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,145 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 707/706
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9538 Presentation of query results

Abstract

Computer-readable media, computer systems, and computing methods are provided for implicitly discovering applications using a query or search results, where the query does not explicitly target a particular application. A search engine is used to receive a user-initiated query and to employ a keyword of the query to generate an initial set of search results. Characteristics of the search results are identified and applications that are relevant to the characteristics are determined. The determination of relevant applications include: accessing an application manifest that manages a mapping between applications and predefined characteristics; comparing the characteristics of the search results against the predefined characteristics of the application manifest to determine a match; and, when a match exists between the search-result characteristics and the predefined characteristics, identifying applications mapped to the matched characteristics as being relevant to the search results. These identified applications are presented in response to the query.

Claims

1. One or more computer-readable media having embodied thereon computer-executable instructions that are executed to perform a method for surfacing one or more applications as a function of search results, the method comprising:

receiving a query submitted at a search engine;

employing a term or phrase of the query to generate an initial set of search results;

selecting a subject result of the initial set of search results;

identifying one or more characteristics of the subject result of the initial set of search results, wherein the one or more characteristics of the subject result represent attributes of a website that is associated with the subject result;

determining at least one application that is relevant to the one or more characteristics of the subject result such that the one or more characteristics of the subject result associate the website with the at least one application, the at least one application being software designed to perform one or more tasks desired by a user; and

presenting the at least one application on a user-interface (UI) display in response to the query.

2. The media of claim 1, wherein presenting the at least one application on a UI display comprises:

integrating the at least one application within the initial set of search results; and

surfacing the at least one integrated application concurrently with the initial set of search results on the UI display.

3. The media of claim 2, wherein integrating the at least one application within the initial set of search results comprises placing the at least one application proximate to the subject result within a layout of a search-result page.

4. The media of claim 2, wherein integrating the at least one application within the initial set of search results comprises placing the at least one application in an area of a layout of a search-results page designated for surfacing applications.

5. The media of claim 1, wherein determining at least one application that is relevant to the one or more characteristics comprises:

accessing an application manifest, wherein the application manifest includes a mapping between applications and predefined characteristics; and

comparing the characteristics of the subject result against the predefined characteristics of the application manifest to determine a match.

6. The media of claim 5, the method further comprising, when a match exists between the characteristics of the subject result and the predefined characteristics of the application manifest, identifying the at least one application associated with the matched predefined characteristics as being relevant to the subject result.

7. The media of claim 5, wherein the predefined characteristics of the application manifest include a web address, and wherein an application associated with the web address exhibits parity with a website reachable by the web address.

8. The media of claim 5, wherein the predefined characteristics of the application manifest include capabilities of an application exposed by an application-developer, and wherein the subject result matches the application capabilities when the application capabilities are relevant to content of the subject result.

9. The media of claim 5, wherein the predefined characteristics of the application manifest include a truncated uniform resource locator (URL), and wherein comparing the characteristics of the subject result against the predefined characteristics comprises:

normalizing a URL associated with the subject result from a specific page locator to a generic site locator; and

comparing the generic site locator against the truncated URL to determine a match.

10. The media of claim 5, wherein the predefined characteristics of the application manifest include an entity, wherein the entity comprises a person, place, or thing represented by a particular online description, and wherein comparing the characteristics of the subject result against the predefined characteristics comprises:

identifying which entity corresponds with the set of initial search results; and

comparing the identified entity against the entity of the application manifest to determine a match.

11. The media of claim 5, wherein the predefined characteristics of the application manifest include a task, wherein the task represents a sequence of user-actions carried out during a search event, and wherein comparing the characteristics of the subject result against the predefined characteristics comprises:

tracking, via a log, a user'"'"'s interactions taken by the user prior to submitting the query;

targeting the task using the tracked user interactions; and

selecting for display at least one application mapped to the task.

12. The media of claim 1, wherein presenting the at least one application on a UI display comprises presenting a control button proximate to a visual representation of the at least one application, and wherein, upon selection, the control button is configured to invoke an action with respect to the at least one application.

13. The media of claim 12, wherein the action invoked upon selection of the control button comprises launching the at least one application, navigating to an online store that offers the at least one application for sale, or installing the at least one application to a device that is currently presenting the UI display.

14. A computer system for selecting at least one application using one or more characteristics of search results, the computer system comprising a processing unit coupled to a computer-storage medium, the computer-storage medium having stored thereon a plurality of computer software components executable by the processing unit, the computer software components comprising:

an application manifest comprising a listing of applications mined from an application marketplace, wherein the applications within the listing are mapped to predefined characteristics;

a search engine for generating an initial set of search results as a function of a query submitted by a user;

a characteristic-matching component for identifying a high-ranking one of the initial search results as a subject result, and for comparing characteristics associated with the subject result against the predefined characteristics of the application manifest, wherein the characteristics of the subject result represent attributes of a website associated with the subject result; and

a selection component for selecting the at least one application listed in the application manifest that is associated with the predefined characteristics matching the associated characteristics of the subject result, and storing the at least one application as a candidate for concurrent display as a digital image representation of the at least one application with the initial set of search results, wherein the at least one application that is relevant is application software designed to perform one or more tasks related to the query for the user, and wherein the one or more characteristics of the subject result associate the website to the at least one application.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the search engine is further configured to receive the query and to detect other interactions of users when implementing search events.

16. The system of claim 15, further comprising an index engine to mine applications, and to construct and maintain the mapping between the mined applications and the predefined characteristics.

17. The system of claim 14, further comprising a rendering component for placing a visual representation of the at least one application in a location on a layout of a search-result page proximate to the subject result.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein the predefined characteristics comprise abstract objects that describe a respective intent of a user when implementing a search event.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the selection component is further configured to compile a log of user interactions while the user is implementing the search event, and to compare information from the log against the predefined characteristics of the application manifest.

20. A computerized method carried out by a search engine running on a processor for surfacing at least one application during review of a web page, the method comprising:

providing the web page with content currently rendered on a user-interface (UI) display of a computing device;

receiving a user-initiated selection of a term or phrase within the content of the web page that is currently rendered on the UI display of the computing device for surfacing the at least one application that is relevant;

determining, in response to the selection, the at least one application that is relevant to the user selected term or phrase, wherein the at least one application that is relevant is application software designed to perform one or more tasks related to the user selected term or phrase for the user when executed by the user; and

presenting the at least one application in a display area, wherein the display area overlays at least a portion of the content of the web page.