Search Engines, Algorithms, and AI Technologies: Comprehensive Guide for Students

What is a search engine?

An application for locating web pages or other content on a computer network.

Name three popular web-based search engines.

Google, Bing, and Yahoo.

What are crawler search engines?

Search engines like Google and Bing that use bots to index web pages.

What is a web directory?

A categorized listing of websites, such as Best of the Web, Yelp, and BBB.

What is a hybrid search engine?

A search engine that combines features of crawler search engines and web directories, like Yahoo and Google.

What are meta-search engines?

Search engines that aggregate results from other search engines, such as Yippy.

What is a semantic search engine?

A search engine that integrates semantic technology to improve search accuracy.

What does SERP stand for?

Search Engine Results Pages.

What are rich snippets in SERPs?

Enhanced search results that provide additional information, such as ratings or images.

What are some options for refining search queries?

Filters, operators, and advanced search options.

How can you search for an exact match in a search engine?

By entering a word or phrase inside quotes.

What does the 'site:' operator do?

It restricts search results to a specific website or domain.

How do crawler search engines work?

They use spiders to download web pages, create indices, and rank pages for SERPs.

What is the role of the indexer module in a search engine?

It creates look-up tables and an inverted index to help locate relevant pages.

What is the retrieval/ranking module responsible for?

Determining the order in which pages are listed in a SERP.

What is enterprise search?

Tools used by employees to search for information within an organization.

What are recommendation engines?

Systems that anticipate information users might find useful, often used in e-commerce and news.

What is an SEM?

SEM involves paid advertising strategies.

What is an SEO

SEO focuses on optimizing organic search results

What is local SEO?

A strategy to optimize a webpage for local content in search results.

What are some emerging search technologies?

Mobile search, intelligent personal assistants, and AI search.

What is real-time search?

Searching for information as it happens, using tools like Google Trends and Twitter Search.

What is the purpose of an index in a search engine?

To efficiently locate relevant pages containing keywords used in a search.

Why are companies interested in enterprise search tools?

To handle unstructured data and improve information retrieval within organizations.

What is the primary difference between a web directory and a crawler-based search engine?

Web directories categorize websites, while crawler-based search engines index content dynamically.

Describe three different real-time search tools.

Google Trends, Google Alerts, and Twitter Search.

Recommendation Engines

Recommendation systems proactively recommend or suggest products, content, etc., to users.

Content-based filtering

Recommends products based on the product features of items the customer has interacted with in the past.

Collaborative filtering

Recommendations based on a user's similarity to other people.

Knowledge-based systems

Use information about a user's needs to recommend products.

Demographic systems

Base recommendations on demographic factors corresponding to a potential customer (i.e., age, gender, race, income, etc.).

Hybrid recommendation engines

Recommendations based on some combination of the methodologies (content-based filtering, collaboration filtering, knowledge-based and demographic systems).

Weighted hybrid

A type of hybrid recommendation engine that uses weighted combinations of different methodologies.

Mixed hybrid

A type of hybrid recommendation engine that results from combining two systems.

Cascade hybrid

A type of hybrid recommendation engine that uses a cascading approach to combine methodologies.

Popularity based filtering

A new approach to recommendation engines that suggests items based on their popularity.

Review based filtering

A new approach to recommendation engines that uses reviews to make recommendations.

Limitations of Recommendation Engines

cold start, sparsity, over-specialization, limited feature content

Artificial Narrow Intelligence (ANI)

Also known as 'weak' AI, essentially current applications.

Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)

Also known as 'strong' AI, essentially future applications that will be on par with human capabilities.

Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI)

Future applications with capabilities that surpass what humans are capable of.

Machine Learning/Deep Learning

A current AI technology that enables AI to learn from data without explicit programming.

Natural Language Processing (NLP)

Enables machines to understand and interpret human language using Natural Language Understanding (NLU) and Natural Language Generation.

Speech Recognition Technology

Converts spoken language into text for easy processing, used in virtual assistants and voice command systems.

Generative AI

Creates new content such as text, images, and music, used in creative applications and data augmentation.

Virtual Agents in AI

Simulate human interaction for customer support, operating 24/7 to reduce response times and costs.

Decision Management Systems

Expert systems that automate decision-making processes, used in finance, healthcare, and supply chain management.

Biometric AI Technologies

Uses unique physical traits for identification and security, including fingerprint, facial recognition, and iris scanning.

Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

Automates repetitive, rule-based tasks in business processes, improving efficiency and reducing human error.

Computer Vision Technology

Enables machines to interpret and analyze visual data.

Natural Language Understanding (NLU)

A component of NLP that helps machines comprehend human language.

Natural Language Generation

A component of NLP that enables machines to produce human-like text.

Chatbots

Applications of NLP widely used for customer interaction and support.

Sentiment Analysis

An application of NLP that determines the sentiment behind text.

Language Translation

An application of NLP that converts text from one language to another.

Text Summarization

An application of NLP that condenses text into a shorter version while retaining key information.

Image Recognition

A fundamental application of deep learning that identifies objects in images.

Speech Recognition Applications

Used in systems that enhance accessibility for users with disabilities.

User Data Personalization

The process of customizing virtual agent interactions based on user behavior.

Fuzzy Logic in AI

Handles reasoning with uncertain or imprecise information. Useful in control systems and decision making. Mimics human reasoning in complex scenarios.

Foundation Models

Foundation models are trained on a large corpus of data from various sources and multiple types.

The Power of Effective Prompts in Generative A.I.

Prompts guide generative A.I. to produce relevant and accurate content. Clear, specific prompts reduce ambiguity and enhance output quality. Well-crafted prompts save time by minimizing the need for revisions.

Best Practices for Crafting Prompts

Use explicit language and define the desired output clearly. Incorporate context to provide background information. Experiment with prompt length to balance detail and brevity. Iterate and refine prompts based on generated results.

Prompt Engineering: Unlocking AI's Potential

Prompt engineering is like giving Copilot a temporary personality. Dynamic responses adapt to well-crafted prompts. Well-designed prompts reduce ambiguity and save time.

AI Applications: Predictive Analytics

looks for patterns to predict the future

AI Applications: Clustering/Customization

groups based on needs/ wants, sees responses to business decisions (ex.discounts).

AI Applications: Psychographic Personas

Psychographics - Lifestyle, interests, opinions, attitudes, motives and values.

Personas - a description of a market cluster based on psychographic and other characteristics.

AI Applications: Recommendation Engines

search/purchase history to make new recommendations

AI Applications: Natural Language Processing

trending topics/personalization to better serve the customer

AI Applications: Image Recognition

Autonomous Vehicles - no driver required. Facial Recognition - security applications.

Maturity of A.I. Marketing Applications

Widespread Use: Predictive Analytics, Clustering/Customization, Recommendation Engines, Natural Language Processing.

Emerging Applications: Psychographic Personas, Image Recognition. Future

Applications: Hyper-Personalized Customer Service, AI-Powered Competitive Tracking, AI-Enhanced Inventory Management.