Offline User Trajectory Modeling for High-Engagement Content

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing digital content platforms struggle to identify and serve content items that promote long-term user engagement, leading to potential loss of user interest and decreased platform loyalty, as current methods are expensive and may disrupt user experience through random content exploration.

Innovation Solution

A system that utilizes offline user session data to model user trajectories and calculate engagement scores for content items, predicting their potential to foster long-term engagement by analyzing user interactions over time, using machine learning models to determine rewards and probability distributions based on user interactions.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If online experimentation methods are used to identify high-engagement content items, then the accuracy of engagement prediction is improved, but the cost and complexity of the system increases significantly

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveengagement prediction accuracyVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies preliminary action by pre-computing engagement scores for content items using offline user session data before deployment. User trajectories and engagement metrics are calculated in advance, allowing the system to identify high-engagement content without performing expensive online experimentation. This shifts the computational burden to an offline phase, reducing real-time system complexity while maintaining prediction accuracy.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent uses copying by creating simulated user trajectories from offline user session data. Instead of conducting actual online experiments with real users, the system generates synthetic engagement data that mirrors real user behavior patterns. This allows accurate engagement prediction without the complexity and costs associated with live A/B testing or online experimentation infrastructure.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

2Adaptability or versatility

If random content exploration is performed to discover high-engagement items, then the discovery of new engaging content is improved, but user experience is disrupted and user interest may be lost

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecontent discovery capabilityVSAvoiduser disengagement
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements feedback by using pre-computed engagement scores to guide content recommendation decisions. The system leverages historical user session data to create engagement metrics that reflect what content users are likely to engage with, providing a feedback mechanism that identifies high-potential content without random exploration. This directed approach maintains user experience while achieving effective content discovery.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies parameter changes by transforming raw user session data into engineered engagement features and scores. Instead of randomly exploring content, the system modifies the parameter space by creating derived metrics such as engagement scores, user trajectory patterns, and content interaction statistics. This allows systematic identification of engaging content based on quantified user behavior parameters rather than random sampling.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

3Loss of information

If extensive online data collection and experimentation are conducted, then the understanding of user engagement patterns is improved, but the time and resources required increase significantly

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveengagement pattern understandingVSAvoidexperimentation duration
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies preliminary action by performing all necessary data processing, trajectory extraction, and engagement score computation in an offline phase before model deployment. User session data is pre-processed to generate engagement metrics and features in advance, eliminating the need for time-consuming online data collection and experimentation. This allows the system to achieve deep engagement pattern understanding without extended online testing periods.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS20250307865A1Identifying high-engagement content items on digital content platforms
Publication Date: 2025.10.02 ROKU INC
  • US20250307865A1 patent drawing
  • US20250307865A1 patent drawing
  • US20250307865A1 patent drawing

AI summary

Determining content items promote long-term user engagement with a digital content platform is not trivial. Online learning systems or simulations that aim to learn and predict such content items are expensive to implement and may not always converge. One approach can involve modeling long-term engagement by examining user trajectories extracted from offline user session data. User trajectories may include user interactions with the platform over a long period of time. Rewards for a particular content item can be calculated using the user trajectories, where a reward is based on a window of user interactions that follows a user interaction with the particular content item. An estimate for the engagement score for the particular content item can be determined from the rewards. The engagement scores of various content items can be used as training data to train a model that can make inferences on long-term engagement potential of a content item.