23.8.3 Query Editing-based
Another possibility is to allow a user to repeatedly edit and resubmit a search query
until their desired item is found [9]. Since it is an iterative process, the object is to
minimize the number of queries needed before the user finds the item of highest
utility. A query’s usefulness is estimated based on the likelihood of the user submitting a particular query, along with its satisfiability, accomplished by observing user
actions and inferring any constraints on user preferences related to item utility and
updating the user’s model. As an example, a user may query for hotels that have
air-conditioning and a golf course. The RS can determine this to be satisfiable, and
further infer that though the user is likely to add a restraint for the hotel being lo-
cated in the city-center, no hotels match such criteria, so the system preemptively
notifies the user that such a condition is unsatisfiable to prevent wasted user effort.
The RS may also infer that for a small increase in price there are hotels with a pool
and spa and a restaurant. Knowing the user’s preferences for having a pool (and not
for other options), the system would only offer adding the pool option, since it may
increase the user’s satisfaction, and not the others since they may overwhelm the
user and decrease overall satisfaction.