Systems and methods for customizing search results and recommendations

Abstract

A recommendation system can be configured to customize search results and/or recommendations of content (e.g., customized products, products, advertising, layouts, etc.) using online and/or offline activity captured on a user population. The system can be configured to customize the content returned to users to achieve specific behaviors and/or influence the current user's behavior, responsive to modeling previous users. For example, the system can capture and aggregate user behavior/activity and score content based on the actions taken with respect to the content. In some examples, the scoring can be filtered or augmented by matching current user characteristics to characteristics of the previous users. The scoring can be generated independent of the language in which the activity/user behavior occurred. According to one embodiment, the system is configured to generate language independent models and utilize the language independent modeling to deliver customized content (e.g., recommendations and/or search results) without conventional constraints.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for executing queries and generating tailored recommendations, the system comprising:
 at least one processor operatively connected to a memory configured to:
 access information on search selections executed in in a user interface performed by a user population, and 
 generate tailored search results for display to a user in a user interface, wherein the user interface includes a plurality of displays screens associated with a search engine and results for a custom digital design, wherein the plurality of display screens include at least, a first display screen from which the search engine receives user specification of descriptive information associated with user search intent or selecting an image for the custom digital design or a second display configured to display a plurality of images and results associated with the user's search intent or selecting an image for the custom digital design; 
 access system assigned scores for users' actions associated with content items displayed to the user population, wherein system assigned scores include assignment of a respective score to: the current user's actions associated with previews of results, entered or generated search terms, visualized or accessed search results, and search navigation associated with the user's intent, or a custom design or previews of respective ones of the plurality of results; 
 index entered or automatically created search terms with system defined user actions, wherein at least a portion of the index on the search terms is generated irrespective of meaning associated with the search terms; and 
 wherein generating the tailored search results includes identification of the tailored search results based, at least in part, on respective action scores assigned to respective content items. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to return at least the tailored search results based, at least in part, on respective action scores assigned to respective images associated with the descriptive information. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to include meaning agnostic results in at least a portion of the tailored search results. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to assign scores relative to steps taken towards a system defined user action. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to weight assigned scores and emphasize user behavior associated with completion of a system defined user action. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to score actions associated with creation of the custom design based on scoring on users actions taken in the user interface relative to steps associated with creating a custom digital design. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: automatically generate a query responsive to user specification of the descriptive information. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein the query is based on, at least in part, the descriptive information for an image for customizing the plurality of products, and wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:
 execute the query to return at least search results of images for customizing products and identify the search results based, at least in part, on respective action scores assigned to respective images associated with the descriptive information; and   communicate the search results for display to the user in the user interface and respective display screen.   
     
     
         9 . A computer implemented method for executing queries and generating tailored recommendations, the method comprising:
 accessing, by a computer system, information on search selections executed in in a user interface performed by a user population;   generating, by the computer system, tailored search results for display to a user in a user interface, wherein the user interface includes a plurality of displays screens associated with a search engine and results for a custom digital design, wherein the plurality of display screens include at least, a first display screen from which the search engine receives user specification of descriptive information associated with user search intent or selecting an image for the custom digital design or a second display configured to display a plurality of images and results associated with the user's search intent or selecting an image for the custom digital design;   accessing, by the computer system, system assigned scores for users' actions associated with content items displayed to the user population, wherein system assigned scores include assignment of a respective score to: the current user's actions associated with previews of results, entered or generated search terms, visualized or accessed search results, and search navigation associated with the user's intent, or a custom design or previews of respective ones of the plurality of results;   indexing, by the computer system, entered or automatically created search terms with system defined user actions, wherein at least a portion of the index on the search terms is generated irrespective of meaning associated with the search terms; and   wherein generating the tailored search results includes an act of identifying the tailored search results based, at least in part, on respective action scores assigned to respective content items.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising communicating, by the computer system, at least search results of images for creating a custom digital design based, at least in part, on respective action scores assigned to respective images associated with the descriptive information. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the method further comprises an act of executing, by the computer system, scoring rules to assign an action value to a content item based on prior user action associated with the content item. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the scoring includes adding the action value to any existing action value for the content item. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising matching, by the computer system, a current user's characteristics to characteristics of prior users. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein matching includes filtering the previous users' actions scored by the modeling component responsive to matching the current user's characteristics to prior users. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising an act of ordering, by the computer system, the search results in the second display screen according to respective activity scores. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising an act of automatically generating, by the computer system, a query responsive to user specification of the descriptive information for creating the custom digital design, wherein the query is based on, at least in part, the descriptive information associated with images for creating the custom design. 
     
     
         17 . A system for executing queries and generating tailored recommendations, the system comprising:
 at least one processor operatively connected to a memory configured to: access information on search selections executed in in a user interface performed by a user population, and
 generate tailored search results for display to a user in a user interface, wherein the user interface includes a plurality of displays screens associated with a search engine, wherein the plurality of display screens include at least, a first display screen from which the search engine receives user specification of descriptive information associated with user search intent or a second display configured to display a plurality of images and results associated with the user's search intent; 
 access system assigned scores for users' actions associated with content items displayed to the user population, wherein system assigned scores include assignment of a respective score to: the current user's actions associated with previews of results, entered or generated search terms, visualized or accessed search results, and search navigation associated with the user's intent or respective ones of the plurality of results; 
 index entered or automatically created search terms with system defined user actions, wherein at least a portion of the index on the search terms is generated irrespective of meaning associated with the search terms; and 
   wherein generating the tailored search results includes identification of the tailored search results based, at least in part, on respective action scores assigned to respective content items.   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to return at least the tailored search results based, at least in part, on respective action scores assigned to respective images associated with the descriptive information. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 18 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to include meaning agnostic results in at least a portion of the tailored search results. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to assign scores relative to steps taken towards a system defined user action.