Kakaku com : to add A.I. based search function

September 14, 2017 Kakaku.com, Inc.

Kakaku.com to add A.I. based search function Processing of keywords through machine learning for more precise search results lets users find products more easily

Kakaku.com Inc. (TS Code: 2371) is pleased to announce that its shopping support site, Kakaku.com (http://kakaku.com/ ） has implemented an A.I. based search function, using machine learning to process keywords in order to produce more

precise search results for its users.

Background of introducing an A.I. based search function

Kakaku.com, which has more than 50 million monthly visits, has a database of over 300 million products, including PCs, household appliances, sundries, fashion and food, resulting in more than 1.5 million keyword searches a day. In order to let users find desired products more easily, Kakaku.com has been making various improvements to its search function over the years, but with rising numbers in search requests, products and categories, search keywords have become more complex. Against this current backdrop, Kakaku.com decided to implement goo Search Solution, an A.I. based in-site search solution for E-commerce sites, provided by NTT Resonant.

Main details of the implementation

The new search function processes users' search behavior through machine learning and displays the optimal result out of the extensive product database. This reduces omissions and biased search results that are likely to occur due to misspellings or vague keywords. Even when there is no exact match for the keyword, products with high relevance will be displayed at the top of the search results page.

In the E-commerce market, conversational commerce using smart speakers (i.e. speakers with voice assistant function) is gaining momentum and the shopping behavior of consumers is changing constantly with each advance in technology. As a first step in continuing to provide services that fit consumer needs, Kakaku.com worked on improving its search function. The service will continue to implement cutting-edge technology to "make everyone satisfied with their purchase".

About Kakaku.com

Kakaku.com is a shopping support site, giving consumers the ability to compare prices of products and services from various categories, such as PCs, home appliances, telecommunication expenses and insurances. The site also provides user reviews and information on the latest trends. Under the domain Priceprice.com, Kakaku.com also offers its services to users in the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and India.

Access KPIs:

Monthly visitors: 51.81 million, Monthly PVs: 6,904 million (as of June 2017) Monthly visitors by device: PC 22.31 million, SP 29.38 million

About goo Search Solution

goo Search Solution is a high accuracy, high speed, A.I. based in-site search solution for E-commerce sites, provided by NTT Resonant. The solution reduces the number of hit zero search results, by automatically creating a dictionary of misspellings, thereby extending possible search keywords. goo search Solution also uses machine learning to analyze user behavior such as, which search results they clicked on or which items they actually purchased, in order to automatically change the order of search results and provide users with the optimal product.

For further information go to : https://searchsolution.goo.ne.jp (Japanese only)

Kakaku.com corporate profile

Address: Digital Gate Building, 3-5-7, Ebisu-minami, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0022 Representative Director, President: Shonosuke Hata

Business description: Planning and operation of web sites Sites operated by Kakaku.com, Inc.: http://corporate.kakaku.com/company/service?lang=en