NEXT-GEN CONTEXION TECHNOLOGY TO ENHANCE AOL SEARCHES
RuleSpace Inc. has announced that America Online will use RuleSpace's unique, artificial-intelligence based context recognition technology to review Web sites for inclusion in results from its all-new search product -- AOL Search. RuleSpace's highly accurate and scalable technology will help AOL provide an even more family-friendly search experience for its more than 19 million members.
By regularly reviewing Web sites to identify material that could be inappropriate for some audiences, the RuleSpace Contexion technology will work in conjunction with AOL's easy-to-use Parental Controls to help ensure that AOL Search results most closely match the user's preferences and search query. In addition, RuleSpace's technology will help ensure that the AOL Search product is as enriching and safe an online experience for the entire family as possible.
RuleSpace's Contexion technology will supplement AOL's own innovative technology and other best-of-breed technologies, including the fast-growing Open Directory Project -- on which AOL Search is based. The solution will seamlessly offer users the best, most relevant information available about any topic with one easy search.
"RuleSpace's technology meets our accuracy needs, enabling us to deliver the search results users are looking for while maintaining the best environment for our members," stated John Ayers, Vice President of Navigation Services and AOL.COM. "And, because it is scalable, this technology will be able to accurately analyze Web sites reliably and quickly even as our AOL Search grows."
RuleSpace's Contexion technology can analyze Internet content at a rate of nearly 1 million pages per hour, enabling the quick and accurate analysis of massive amounts of data in a fraction of the time it would take for manual review.
"Our Contexion technology is tailor-made for this large scale, accurate analysis of Internet content," commented Charlie Kawasaki, president and CEO of RuleSpace. "AOL's selection of this technology underscores its validity as an industrial-strength solution capable of scaling with both the size of the user-base and the explosion of Internet content."
RuleSpace's Contexion technology accurately infers the meaning of Web pages in real-time through analysis of several attributes, including text, images and a page's network associations, to arrive at a decision based on the page's overall context. The power of this patent-pending technology stems from its ability to categorize digital information by example, and then efficiently and accurately identify instances of these categories, or "rulespaces," as they are encountered.
A rulespace is a key innovation that enables neural network-based analysis to be used in real-time applications. It is a set of variables that captures the statistical nature of a content category. Rulespaces are created in an off-line process that distills samples of a category to discern its distinguishing features and their relative importance. This data set is then used as a reference base for classifying unknown content in real-time.
AOL Search is America Online's next-generation search product. Available on the AOL service and on the Web at AOL.COM (http://www.aol.com), the new AOL Search offers members unparalleled convenience by providing the fastest and easiest way for them to find what they want online. Whether searching AOL content or the Internet, AOL Search delivers users the best, most relevant information available about any topic with one easy search.
Founded in 1985, America Online, Inc., based in Dulles, Virginia, is the world's leader in interactive services, Web brands, Internet technologies, and e-commerce services. America Online, Inc. operates: two worldwide Internet services, America Online, with more than 19 million members, and CompuServe, with more than 2.2 million members; several leading Internet brands including ICQ, AOL Instant Messenger and Digital City, Inc.; the Netscape Netcenter and AOL.COM portals; the Netscape Navigator and Communicator browsers; AOL MovieFone, the nation's No. 1 movie listing guide and ticketing service; and Spinner Networks and NullSoft, Inc., leaders in Internet music and Digital Marketing Services (DMS), the leader in online incentive marketing programs and online custom market research Through its strategic alliance with Sun Microsystems, the Company develops and offers easy-to-deploy, end-to-end e-commerce and enterprise solutions for companies operating in the Net Economy.
RuleSpace, Inc. is a privately held corporation located in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1996, RuleSpace provides a highly scalable context recognition technology platform that harnesses the power of the Internet. Its solutions enable a valuable Internet experience for Web users by delivering the right information to the right person at the right time.