Amazon Technologies, Inc.

A9.com, Inc.

Ronald M Whitman

Gaurav Chanda

Eric R Vadon

Christopher Laurence Scofield

Brent Russell Smith

Benjamin W S Redman

Ron Kohavi

Gautam K Jayaraman

Jin Y Yi

Wesley M Turner

Jeffrey T Brownell

Eugene Kalenkovich

Randal Henne

Homer G Morgan, Iii

Segment signatures for road segments may be generated to enable, among other things, conflation of map data. To generate a segment signature, map data is analyzed to determine road segments represented by the map data. A road segment may be converted into a segment signature to enable comparing road segments between different maps and/or for other reasons. The segment signature may be generated for a road segment and may include truncated geohashes or geohashes including fewer significant digits than more precise geohashes for points along the road segment, thereby designating a small area of land for comparison purposes. The segment signature may include alphanumeric digits representing a start angle and an end angle of the road segment.

Identification of road segments

Technologies are described herein for relating individual items to categories of items purchased concurrently by a customer. A representative category may be assigned to each of the items offered for sale by an online merchant. Purchase history data containing information regarding each item purchased by a customer on a specific date is augmented with information regarding each representative category of items from which an item was purchased by the customer on the same date. From the purchase history data, an attach rate is calculated between each particular item and a number of representative categories indicating the frequency of concurrency of purchase of the particular item with items assigned to the representative category. A user interface may then be generated containing the attach rates between the particular item and the representative categories and sent to a customer computer for display to the customer.

Relating individual items to similar purchased categories

Generally described, embodiments of the present disclosure are directed toward the identification of items for inclusion in a recommendations list that may be displayed concurrently with an item selected by a user or users. The recommended items may be items that are of potential interest to the user and/or may be items that are related to the selected item. More specifically, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method and system for generating one or more recommendations lists, providing those lists to users, evaluating users' interactions with those lists, and modifying the engines or techniques used to identify items that are to be included in the recommendations lists.

Evaluating recommendations

A process is disclosed for using item price data to assess whether particular item-to-item associations are useful for generating item recommendations. In one embodiment, the process involves generating a compatibility score that represents a degree to which the two items of an item-to-item mapping are compatible in price. This score may then be used to determine whether to use the item-to-item association as a basis for generating item recommendations.

Identifying low utility item-to-item association mappings

A system and method are disclosed for automatically detecting associations between particular sets of search criteria, such as particular search strings, and particular items. Actions of users of an interactive system, such as a web site, are monitored over time to generate event histories reflective of searches, item selection actions, and possibly other types of user actions. An analysis component collectively analyzes the event histories to automatically identify and quantify associations between specific search strings (or other types of search criteria) and specific items.

Detection of behavior-based associations between search strings and items

Automated processes are disclosed for identifying bundles of three or more items to suggest to users. In one embodiment, item action data, such as item purchase data reflective of the item purchases of a user population, is used to detect pairwise (item to item) associations between particular items represented in an electronic catalog. These pairwise associations are then used (optionally in combination with other information) to select bundles of three or more items to recommend to users. The bundles may, for example, be suggested on item detail pages of the electronic catalog.

Automated selection of three of more items to recommend as a bundle

Evaluating recommendations by determining user actions, and performance values pertaining to lists of recommendations

A computer system for detecting associations between items may include a probabilistic analysis component that accesses user data having information about item selections by a plurality of users. The probabilistic analysis component may programmatically generate associations between certain items by determining a first number of users who selected the items and by estimating a probability that a second number of users would have selected the items due to random chance. The probabilistic analysis component may estimate this probability based at least partly on a number of item selections made by one or more of the users.

System for detecting probabilistic associations between items

A system and method are disclosed for automatically detecting associations between particular sets of search criteria, such as particular search strings, and particular items. Actions of users of an interactive system, such as a web site, are monitored over time to generate event histories reflective of searches, item selection actions, and possibly other types of user actions. An analysis component collectively analyzes the event histories to automatically identify and quantify associations between specific search strings (or other types of search criteria) and specific items. As part of this process, a decay function reduces the weight given to a post-search item selection event based on intervening events that occur between the search event and the item selection event.

A search engine system assists users in refining their searches by suggesting previously-submitted search phrases to such users. The search phrases are selected to suggest based on collected data regarding search behaviors of search engine users. In one embodiment, candidate search phrases are scored and selected to suggest based at least in-part on (a) a frequency with which each search phrase has been submitted, and/or (b) an evaluation of the 'usefulness' of each search phrase, as reflected by post-query-submission actions of users who submitted the search phrase.

Selection of search phrases to suggest to users in view of actions performed by prior users

A search engine system uses information about historical query submissions to a search engine to suggest previously-submitted, related search phrases to users. The related search phrases are preferably suggested based on a most recent set of query submission data (e.g., the last two weeks of submissions), and thus strongly reflect the current searching patterns or interests of users. In one embodiment, the related search phrases are scored and selected for display based at least in-part on (a) a frequency with which each search phrase has been submitted, and/or (b) an evaluation of the 'usefulness' of each search phrase, as reflected by actions performed by prior users while viewing corresponding search results.

A computer-implemented process identifies useful alternative spellings of search strings submitted to a search engine. The process takes into consideration spelling changes made by users, as detected by programmatically analyzing search string submissions of a population of search engine users. In one embodiment, an assessment of whether a second search string represents a useful alternative spelling of a first search string takes into consideration (1) an edit distance between the first and second search strings, and (2) a likelihood that a user who submits the first search string will thereafter submit the second search string, as determined by monitoring and analyzing actions of users.

Identifying alternative spellings of search strings by analyzing self-corrective searching behaviors of users

A search engine system uses information about historical query submissions to a search engine to suggest previously-submitted, related search phrases to users. The related search phrases are preferably suggested based on a most recent set of query submission data (e.g., the last two weeks of submissions), and thus strongly reflect the current searching patterns or interests of users. The system is preferably implemented within a search engine used to locate items that are available for electronic purchase, but may be implemented within other types of search engines. In one embodiment, the related search phrases are scored and selected for display based at least in-part on an evaluation of the &ldquo;usefulness&rdquo; of each search phrase, as reflected by actions performed by prior users while viewing the corresponding search results.

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Seattle, WA, United States of America

Ronald M Whitman