Recipe Item Replacement Graph for Online Concierge Systems

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional online concierge systems fail to effectively address user preferences and dietary restrictions by reducing the number of recipes displayed or discouraging user interaction, as they rely on users to identify suitable replacements for generic item descriptions, increasing complexity and reducing engagement.

Innovation Solution

The online concierge system generates a replacement graph using natural language processing to identify relationships between generic and replacement item descriptions, allowing it to automatically replace generic items with user-preferred alternatives based on stored user preferences and purchase history, while maintaining recipe accuracy and user interaction.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If conventional online concierge systems display recipes with generic item descriptions, then users can see more recipes, but users cannot identify suitable replacements for items inconsistent with their preferences or dietary restrictions

Engineering Contradiction:

Improverecipe compatibility with user preferencesVSAvoiduser effort to identify suitable replacements

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The system pre-processes recipes to identify generic item descriptions and determines replacement items based on user preferences and dietary restrictions before displaying the recipe to the user. This preliminary action eliminates the need for users to manually identify suitable replacements, resolving the contradiction between recipe adaptability and ease of operation

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system introduces an intermediary processing layer that acts between the generic recipe data and the user display. This intermediary automatically matches generic items with suitable replacement items based on user profiles, thereby adapting recipes to user preferences without requiring user effort to identify replacements

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Reliability

If conventional online concierge systems exclude or mark recipes with incompatible items, then user preferences are respected, but the number of displayed recipes is reduced and user interaction is discouraged

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepreference consistencyVSAvoiduser interaction with recipes

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The system changes the parameter of recipe presentation by automatically substituting incompatible generic items with suitable replacement items that match user preferences. This allows the system to maintain high preference consistency while preserving the full set of displayable recipes, thereby preventing reduction in user interaction

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of excluding or marking recipes as incompatible (the conventional approach), the system inverts the approach by automatically replacing incompatible items with suitable alternatives. This inversion maintains both preference reliability and recipe availability for user interaction

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

3Adaptability or versatility

If users manually identify and replace items based on their knowledge of item relationships, then personalized recipes can be obtained, but the complexity of the process increases and user engagement decreases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepersonalized recipe generationVSAvoidprocess complexity for users

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements self-service by automatically performing the item replacement task that would otherwise require user knowledge and effort. The system uses stored user preferences and dietary restriction data to autonomously identify and replace incompatible generic items, achieving personalized recipe generation without increasing process complexity for users

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Data Source

PatentUS12033205B2Replacing one or more generic item descriptions in a recipe to accommodate user preferences for items based on determined relationships between generic item descriptions

Publication Date: 2024.07.09 MAPLEBEAR INC

AI summary

An online concierge system modifies generic item descriptions included in a recipe displayed to a user based on the user's preferences. The online concierge system generates a replacement graph identifying a replacement generic item description for a generic item description, one or more preferences causing replacement of the generic item description with the replacement generic item description, and a replacement quantity of the replacement generic item description. To customize a recipe for the user, the online concierge system selects replacement generic item descriptions for one or more generic item descriptions in the recipe satisfying one or more stored preferences for the user based on the replacement graph.