{
  "altLabels": [
    "Web Query Classification",
    "Query Categorization"
  ],
  "definition": "Assigning a search query to one or more predefined classes, categories, intents, verticals, or other labels.",
  "distinctions": [
    {
      "reason": "Query classification assigns labels or categories; query routing chooses a source, tool, retriever, model, or strategy.",
      "statement": "Query Classification is not Query Routing.",
      "target": "query-routing",
      "targetLabel": "Query Routing",
      "targetUri": "https://id.searchplex.net/query-routing/"
    },
    {
      "reason": "Query understanding is the broader interpretation workflow; query classification is one task within that workflow.",
      "statement": "Query Classification is not Query Understanding.",
      "target": "query-understanding",
      "targetLabel": "Query Understanding",
      "targetUri": "https://id.searchplex.net/query-understanding/"
    }
  ],
  "id": "query-classification",
  "kind": "Task",
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/",
  "links": [
    {
      "label": "Building bridges for web query classification",
      "type": "definingReference",
      "url": "https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/1390334.1390335"
    },
    {
      "label": "ORCAS-I: Queries Annotated with Intent using Weak Supervision",
      "type": "definingReference",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2205.00926"
    }
  ],
  "modifiedAt": "2026-09-14T06:43:46Z",
  "prefLabel": "Query Classification",
  "publisher": {
    "name": "Searchplex",
    "url": "https://searchplex.net/"
  },
  "relations": [
    {
      "note": "Query classification assigns labels or categories; query routing chooses a source, tool, retriever, model, or strategy.",
      "target": "query-routing",
      "type": "notEquivalentTo"
    },
    {
      "note": "Query understanding is the broader interpretation workflow; query classification is one task within that workflow.",
      "target": "query-understanding",
      "type": "notEquivalentTo"
    },
    {
      "target": "query-understanding",
      "type": "partOf"
    },
    {
      "target": "query-routing",
      "type": "related"
    },
    {
      "target": "ranking",
      "type": "related"
    }
  ],
  "representations": {
    "html": "https://id.searchplex.net/query-classification/",
    "json": "https://id.searchplex.net/query-classification.json",
    "jsonld": "https://id.searchplex.net/query-classification.jsonld"
  },
  "scheme": "https://id.searchplex.net/scheme/",
  "scopeNote": "Query classification is broader than query intent classification. Depending on the system, the target classes may represent topic, product category, vertical, navigational intent, commercial intent, routing class, or another operational taxonomy.",
  "status": "published",
  "terms": [
    {
      "community": "academic",
      "label": "Query Intent Classification",
      "usage": "nearSynonym"
    },
    {
      "community": "commerce-search",
      "label": "Category Prediction",
      "usage": "nearSynonym"
    }
  ],
  "uri": "https://id.searchplex.net/query-classification/"
}