# Creating a recommendation

## Creating web recommendations

Set up personalized product recommendations on your website using AB Tasty's recommendation engine. This tutorial guides you through the recommendation builder to create and configure recommendation strategies.

### Prerequisites

Before creating recommendations, ensure you have:

* An active AB Tasty account with Recommendations & Merchandising enabled
* Your website's product catalog connected to AB Tasty
* Admin or editor permissions in your AB Tasty workspace

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

### Access the recommendations section

Navigate to the recommendations area to view and manage your strategies.

1. Log in to your AB Tasty dashboard
2. Click **Recommendations** in the left sidebar navigation
3. View your existing recommendations in the main table

<figure><img src="/files/1MxhLjx94RwKkkySL2TK" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

The recommendations table shows all your active and inactive recommendation strategies. If your account has an analytics integration, you can see performance metrics including user rate, site revenue generation, and revenue per impression.

{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Create a new recommendation

Start building your recommendation by opening the recommendation builder.

1. Click **CREATE RECOMMENDATION** in the top right corner
2. The recommendation builder opens as a new page

<figure><img src="/files/o1zbIlr26eSJ84Fj0kAb" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

The recommendation builder provides a drag-and-drop interface with ranking blocks and custom rules on the left and configuration options on the right.

{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Name your recommendation strategy

Give your recommendation strategy a descriptive name for easy identification.

1. Click **Name your recommendation** **strategy** at the top of the builder
2. Enter a clear, descriptive name for your recommendation strategy
3. The name should indicate the recommendation type and target use case

{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### (Optional): Describe your recommendation strategy

<figure><img src="/files/0uznEBeRB6kr8pk0Cuwc" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

1. Click arrow down icon at the right corner
2. Click No Description under the name of the recommendation strategy
3. Enter a description of your recommendation strategy
4. Click outside the editing area to add description

{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Configure the sorting algorithm

Select and configure how products will be sorted in your recommendations.

1. From the **RANKING BLOCKS** section on the left, drag **Items sorted by ...** to the main configuration area
2. In the sorting configuration:
   * Select the property to sort by (e.g., "revenues\_last\_30\_days")
   * Choose sorting order: **Descending** or **Ascending**
3. Set the **Number of items** to display (default is 12)
4. Click **Add minimum** if you want to set a minimum number of items to display

The sorted items ranking block ranks products based on the selected property, ensuring the most relevant items appear first.

{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Add custom rules

Enhance your recommendation strategies with additional logic using the custom rules section.

1. From the **CUSTOM RULES** section, you can add:
   * **Filter**: Exclude specific products or categories
   * **Sort**: Additional sorting rules
   * **Limit**: Cap the number of results
   * **Minimum**: Set minimum thresholds
   * **Condition (if)**: Conditional filtering
   * **Exclude**: Remove specific items
   * **Shuffle**: Randomize product order
   * **Pins**: Pin specific products to positions
2. Drag any custom rule to the "Drag and drop a custom rule" area
3. Configure the custom rule parameters as needed

{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Set up follow-up ranking block

Add secondary recommendation logic using the "FOLLOWED BY" section.

1. Drag another ranking block from the **RANKING BLOCKS** list to the "Drag and drop an ranking block" area in the "FOLLOWED BY" section
2. This creates a fallback or complementary recommendation strategy
3. Add custom rules to the follow-up ranking block if needed

{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Preview and test your recommendation strategy

Review your recommendation configuration before saving.

1. Click **PREVIEW** to see how your recommendations will appear
2. Review the generated product recommendations in the preview
3. Test different scenarios if your recommendation uses dynamic parameters

<figure><img src="/files/v7knxsW3hLaX1nGPiYEp" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

To see API call structure including CURL and Python examples :&#x20;

1. Click **CODE SNIPPET**

<figure><img src="/files/6UL0oylfjhvZNIJfgFQA" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Deploy a recommendation

{% embed url="<https://docs.abtasty.com/~/revisions/CZyeQcVo7lKxzhx92s2M/recommendations-and-merchandising-1/how-tos/how-to-deploy-a-strategy>" %}
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.abtasty.com/recommendations-and-merchandising/getting-started/recommendations/creating-a-recommendation.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.