Create New Recommendation Restriction Rules

This section includes step-by-step instructions for creating Recommendation Restriction rules in Recommend.

To create a new rule for recommendation restriction:

On the Omnichannel Personalization Dashboard page, go to Recommendations > Recommendation Restrictions.
Click Add "Do not recommend" Rule or Add "Only recommend" Rule.

The ''Do not recommend'' rule allows you to specify what products to not recommend to a customer.

The ''Only recommend'' rule allows you to specify what products the customer should only see. This rule prevents any other products other than the ones specified in the rule to be shown.

Specify a name for your rule. This is a simple description of business objective that the "Only recommend" or "Do not recommend" rule is trying to meet. This is never shown to the customer.
Select the Enable in production checkbox to enable the rule to be in production environment as soon as it is created or select the Enable in QA/Test/Integration checkbox to test it first in the QA/Test/Integration environment, and then enable it later for production environment.
Specify the start date from when the rule becomes active. The rule becomes active midnight on the date specified, per the time zone configured for your site.

Note: If you are unsure of the time zone configured for your site, contact the Algonomy support team..

Specify the end date or select the No End Date checkbox to let the rule run indefinitely. The end date is inclusive. For example, if you set the end date to be March 31, 2022, the rule will be active until March 31, 2022, 23:59:59.
In the Context area, specify where you want to apply the rule:
- For Only recommend rule: The context of the rule is applied only for the specific areas of your site and not for the entire site. To specify the context for the rule, go to the step #8.
- For Do not recommend rule: The context of the rule can be applied either for the specific areas of your site or for the entire site.
  - Select sitewide, if you want the rule to be applied across the entire site. The Context area disappears for the sitewide context, hence skip the step #8.
  - Select conditional, if you want the rule to be applied conditionally in specific areas of your site. To specify the conditional context for the rule, go to the step #8.
Specify one or more conditions where the "Only recommend" or "Do not recommend"(for conditional context) rule will be active.

You can use the following condition types:
- Category: The category of the current page (applicable to item, add_to_cart, cart, purchase, and category pages).
- Brand: The brand of the product.
- Product: A specific product (applicable to item, add_to_cart, purchase, and cart pages).
- Attribute: Target products that have specific attributes (applicable to item, add_to_cart, purchase, and cart pages).
- SKU Attribute: Specify the SKU attribute name and its value.
- Price: Target products that have a certain price range (applicable to item, add_to_cart, purchase, and cart pages).
Note: If currency is defined in the product region feed or XML feed, merchants will be able to specify currency specific rules for price.
- Segment: Customers that belong to a market segment specified by the retailer
- Strategy: Select strategies that the rule should apply to.
- Page: The page type where you want the "Only recommend" or "Do not recommend" rule to occur. For example, you can not recommend a specific category of products on the home page.
- Placement: The placement where you want the "Only recommend" or "Do not recommend" rule to occur.
- Ratings and Reviews: Ratings and reviews of the product.
- Search Term: Specify the search terms you want this rule to apply to.
Specify the products for ''Only recommend'' or ''Do not recommend'' rule by specifying a list of products or describing the products by their attributes.

You can use the following attributes:
- Category: The category of the product. If a product belongs to more than one category, it qualifies for the rule if any of its categories match. For example, if you have a rule that says do not recommend Toys, a product that belongs to Electronics and Toys will not be recommended. Select any one of the following from the Category tab:
  - Filter Products Pending Purchase: The category where the products in pending for purchase are selected to apply either the "Only recommend" or "Do not recommend" rule.
  - Filter Products Already Purchased: The category where the products already purchased are selected to apply either the "Only recommend" or "Do not recommend" rule.
  - Products with a Matching Category: The products with a matching category are selected to apply either the "Only recommend" or "Do not recommend" rule.
  - Enter one category id, or several ids separated by commas, or enter a category name for lookup: Specify the category ID to apply either the "Only recommend" or "Do not recommend" rule.
- Brand: The brand of the product. Select any one of the following from the Brand tab.
- Product: A specific product (applicable to item, add_to_cart, purchase, and cart pages). Specify the following from the Product tab:
- Attribute: Target products that have specific attributes (applicable to item, add_to_cart, purchase, and cart pages). You can target products using those attributes you shared with us in the catalog feed. Select any one of the following from the Attribute tab:
- Price: Use the minimum sale price if it's specified, else use the list price. Specify the following from the Price tab:
Note: If currency is defined in the product region feed or XML feed, merchants will be able to specify currency specific rules for price.
- Ratings and Reviews: Ratings and reviews of the product. Specify the following from the Ratings and Reviews tab:
- User: Recommend or do not recommend products with the same attribute value as products the user has previously viewed or purchased.
Click Save.
The rule will be active on the site within 30 minutes. The start date is managed by the system, so the rule will not be visible to customers until that date.