Patent ID: 7885902

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for providing recommendations for at least a first user, said recommendations being selected from a plurality of possible choices, the computer-implemented method comprising: receiving first user profile data, said first user profile data including at least first user self-description data and first user perceived requirement data furnished by said first user; providing or bypassing a first set of questions based on at least said first user perceived requirement data; providing a second set of questions based on at least said first user perceived requirement data to said first user for collecting further first user self-description data; providing a set of hypotheses, said set of hypotheses being obtained by applying machine learning to a training set comprising a plurality of input samples, each of said plurality of input samples representing a past interaction and including at least input sample user profile data, input sample characteristic data that characterizes a recommended match for said past interaction, and an associated feedback satisfaction value for said past interaction; applying said set of hypotheses against said first user profile data and at least a subset of said plurality of possible choices to obtain a set of match candidates, said set of match candidates including at least a first match candidate and a second match candidate; providing data regarding at least said first match candidate to said first user as a recommendation; after said first match candidate has been judged by said first user to be unsatisfactory, requesting said first user to propose one or more features that would have made a difference in said recommendation; after said requesting, receiving a user-proposed question from said first user, said user-proposed question being designed to gather data pertaining to said one or more features; and providing said user-proposed question to said second match candidate to collect additional data associated with said second match candidate pertaining to said one or more features prior to providing data regarding said second match candidate to said first user.