Search Query Entity Substitution for Result Adequacy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Search engines often fail to provide adequate results for entity-specific queries, especially when there are limited relevant entities in the user's vicinity, leading to inadequate search results for users seeking specific entities like coffee shops or restaurants.
Innovation Solution
A method is implemented where a processing system receives a search query, identifies entities, generates alternate search queries to find substitutes, and retrieves relevant application state records from a data store, transmitting improved search results to the user device by constraining queries based on entity types and location.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If search engines use entity-specific queries to provide precise search results, then search precision is improved, but search results become inadequate when there are limited relevant entities in the user's vicinity
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically changes search parameters by generating alternate queries with modified entity terms. When the original entity-specific query returns insufficient results, the system substitutes the named entity with alternative entity names (e.g., substituting a specific coffee shop name with other coffee shop names) to expand the search results while maintaining relevance to the user's intent.
Solution Approach 2:
The search process is segmented into multiple stages: first executing the original entity-specific query, then generating and executing alternate queries when results are insufficient. This segmentation allows the system to maintain precision for queries with adequate results while recovering adequacy for queries with limited results by switching to alternate entity terms.
2Quantity of substance
If search engines expand queries to find more results, then search result quantity is improved, but search precision decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes entity parameters by substituting specific entity names with alternative entity names that are semantically related. This allows expansion of result quantity while maintaining precision because the alternate entities are selected based on their relevance to the original search intent and the user's context (such as location and preferences).
Data Source
AI summary
A method includes receiving a search query containing one or more query terms from a remote device and identifying an entity in the search query. The entity is a known entity name of a known entity type. The method also includes determining a set of alternate search queries based on the identified entity. The alternate search queries are configured to identify states of software applications that correspond to entities that are substitutes for the identified entity. The method also includes identifying a consideration set of application state records stored in an application state data store based on the alternate set of search queries. Each application state record defines a state of a respective software application that is at least relevant to one or more of the alternate search queries. The method also includes generating search results based on the consideration set and transmitting the search results to the remote device.