Personalization of web search results using term, category, and link-based user profiles
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:
- at a system having one or more processors and memory storing programs executed by the one or more processors;
accessing a user profile for a user;
receiving a search query from the user;
obtaining, from a search engine to which the search query is provided, search results identifying a set of search result documents responsive to the search query, each document being associated with a generic score that is independent of the user profile;
determining a personalized score for each document of at least a subset of the set of search result documents, in accordance with the user profile;
determining a final score for each document in at least said subset set of search result documents as a function of the personalized score for the document, the generic score associated with the document, and a confidence score corresponding to a confidence level in the user profile, the confidence score accounting for one or more of;
quantity of information acquired about the user, how closely the search query matches the user profile, and an age of the user profile;
providing, in accordance with the final scores, results identifying at least a subset of the set of search result documents to a client system associated with the user; and
updating the user profile as a function of search queries received from the user and documents selected by the user from search results provided to the user in response to the search queries;
wherein providing results identifying at least a subset of the set of search result documents includes providing at least one result of the obtained search results in accordance with the personalized score for the corresponding document and providing other results of the obtained search results in accordance with the generic scores for the documents corresponding to the other results but independent of the user profile, andwherein a ratio of a number search results provided in accordance with the personalized score to a number of search results provided in accordance with the generic scores for the documents corresponding to the other results but independent of the user profile is determined based on the confidence score.
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Abstract
A system and method for creating a user profile and for using the user profile to order search results returned by a search engine. The user profile is based on search queries submitted by a user, the user'"'"'s specific interaction with the documents identified by the search engine and personal information provided by the user. Terms for the user profile may be selected from the documents accessed by the user by performing paragraph sampling or context analysis. Generic scores associated with the search results are modulated by the user profile to measure their relevance to a user'"'"'s preference and interest. The search results are re-ordered accordingly so that the most relevant results appear on the top of the list. User profiles can be created and/or stored on the client side or server side of a client-server network environment.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:
at a system having one or more processors and memory storing programs executed by the one or more processors; accessing a user profile for a user; receiving a search query from the user; obtaining, from a search engine to which the search query is provided, search results identifying a set of search result documents responsive to the search query, each document being associated with a generic score that is independent of the user profile; determining a personalized score for each document of at least a subset of the set of search result documents, in accordance with the user profile; determining a final score for each document in at least said subset set of search result documents as a function of the personalized score for the document, the generic score associated with the document, and a confidence score corresponding to a confidence level in the user profile, the confidence score accounting for one or more of;
quantity of information acquired about the user, how closely the search query matches the user profile, and an age of the user profile;providing, in accordance with the final scores, results identifying at least a subset of the set of search result documents to a client system associated with the user; and updating the user profile as a function of search queries received from the user and documents selected by the user from search results provided to the user in response to the search queries; wherein providing results identifying at least a subset of the set of search result documents includes providing at least one result of the obtained search results in accordance with the personalized score for the corresponding document and providing other results of the obtained search results in accordance with the generic scores for the documents corresponding to the other results but independent of the user profile, and wherein a ratio of a number search results provided in accordance with the personalized score to a number of search results provided in accordance with the generic scores for the documents corresponding to the other results but independent of the user profile is determined based on the confidence score. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A search engine system, comprising:
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one or more central processing units for executing programs; an interface for receiving information; and a search engine module executable by the one or more central processing units, the module comprising; instructions for accessing a user profile for a user; instructions for receiving a search query from the user; instructions for obtaining, from a search engine to which the search query is provided, search results identifying a set of search result documents responsive to the search query, each document being associated with a generic score that is independent of the user profile; instructions for determining a personalized score for each document of at least a subset of the set of search result documents, in accordance with the user profile; instructions for determining a final score for each document in at least said subset of the set of search result documents as a function of the personalized score for the document, the generic score associated with the document, and a confidence score corresponding to a confidence level in the user profile, the confidence score accounting for one or more of;
quantity of information acquired about the user, how closely the search query matches the user profile, and age of the user profile;instructions for providing, in accordance with the final scores, results identifying at least a subset of the set of search result documents to a client system associated with the user; and instructions for updating the user profile as a function of search queries received from the user and documents selected by the user from search results provided to the user in response to the search queries, wherein providing results identifying at least a subset of the set of search result documents includes providing at least one result of the obtained search results in accordance with the personalized score for the corresponding document and providing other results of the obtained search results in accordance with the generic scores for the documents corresponding to the other results but independent of the user profile, and wherein a ratio of a number search results provided in accordance with the personalized score to a number of search results provided in accordance with the generic scores for the documents corresponding to the other results but independent of the user profile is determined based on the confidence score. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs for execution by one or more processors, the one or more programs comprising:
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instructions for accessing a user profile for a user; instructions for receiving a search query from the user; instructions for obtaining, from a search engine to which the search query is provided, search results identifying a set of search result documents responsive to the search query, each document being associated with a generic score that is independent of the user profile; instructions for determining a personalized score for each document of at least a subset of the set of search result documents, in accordance with the user profile; instructions for determining a final score for each document in at least said subset of the set of search result documents as a function of the personalized score for the document, the generic score associated with the document, and a confidence score corresponding to a confidence level in the user profile, the confidence score accounting for one or more of;
quantity of information acquired about the user, how closely the search query matches the user profile, and age of the user profile;instructions for providing, in accordance with the final scores, results identifying at least a subset of the set of search result documents to a client system associated with the user; and instructions for updating the user profile as a function of search queries received from the user and documents selected by the user from search results provided to the user in response to the search queries; wherein providing results identifying at least a subset of the set of search result documents includes providing at least one result of the obtained search results in accordance with the personalized score for the corresponding document and providing other results of the obtained search results in accordance with the generic scores for the documents corresponding to the other results but independent of the user profile, and wherein a ratio of a number search results provided in accordance with the personalized score to a number of search results provided in accordance with the generic scores for the documents corresponding to the other results but independent of the user profile is determined based on the confidence score. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification