Google patents smarter way to check changing prices on web pages
This filing describes a method for search engines to decide how often to re-check web pages for updated information, such as prices or stock levels. It uses a reinforcement learning technique called adversarial bandits to balance the cost of checking pages against the likelihood that the data has actually changed.
In the filing’s own words
Techniques of generating recrawl policies for commercial offer pages include generating a multiple strategy approach using a number of different strategies. In some implementations, each strategy is an arm of a K-armed adversarial bandits algorithm with reinforcement learning. Moreover, in some implementations, the multiple strategy approach also uses a machine learning algorithm to estimate parameters such as a click rate, impression rate, and likelihood of price change, i.e., change rate, which was assumed known in the conventional approaches.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. A method, comprising: receiving a first webpage having a static value of an attribute of a first entity associated with the first webpage and a dynamic value of a quantity for the first entity at a prior time step, wherein the static value for the attribute is shared with a second entity associated with a second webpage; generating, via a model, a value of a recrawl parameter for the first webpage at a current time step, wherein the value of the recrawl parameter is based on the static value of the attribute; determining a recrawl rate for the first webpage based on the value of the recrawl parameter; and performing a recrawl operation on the first webpage based on the recrawl rate to obtain a value of the quantity for the first entity at the current time step.
Facts
- Company
- Google (GOOGLE LLC)
- Official title
- ADVERSARIAL BANDITS POLICY FOR CRAWLING HIGHLY DYNAMIC CONTENT
- Publication number
- US20260329950A1
- Application number
- 19574802
- Filed
- Mar 23, 2026
- Published
- Oct 22, 2026
- Inventors
- 5
- Claims
- 20
Classified under
G06F 16/951 Physics & computingG06F 16/953 Physics & computingG06F 16/9532 Physics & computingG06F 18/214 Physics & computingG06Q 30/0239 Physics & computingG06Q 30/0601 Physics & computingMore from Google in AI & software
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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.