Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Dan Fain

Sanaz Ahari

Brian W MacDonald

Nikhil Dandekar

Sarthak D Shah

Farid Hosseini

Michael Maxwell Cameron

Xiaoxin Yin

Adam D Troy

Computer-readable media and computerized methods are provided for identifying terms associated with one or more queries, including aspects directed to manipulating a list of terms associated with a query class by extracting terms, identifying equivalences or relevant terms, and condensing or expanding the list of terms. In embodiments, synonymous terms can be identified. An updated list of terms can be written to a storage location in association with a query or query class.

Identifying terms associated with queries

Computer-readable media and computerized methods for automatically organizing search results according to task groups are provided. The methods involve aggregating a gallery of entities (e.g., search queries that share a common categorization) into a query class and assigning a dictionary (e.g., list of terms that are drawn from various sources) to the query class. The task groups are identified from the list of terms within the dictionary. The process of identification includes analyzing patterns of user search behavior to select terms from the list of terms, which reflect popular user search intents, and ranking the selected terms based on predetermined parameters to produce an ordering. Based on the ordering, a set of the selected terms that are highest ranked are declared the task groups. The task groups are employed to arrange the search results on a UI display and to provide a consistent and intuitive format for refining a search.

Identifying task groups for organizing search results

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Redmond, WA, United States of America

Dan Fain