Shopify产品分类的演变：从类别到全面的产品理解
At Shopify, we help millions of businesses sell products across our platform, ranging from handcrafted jewelry to industrial equipment. Understanding these products, including their categories, attributes, and characteristics, is crucial for providing better search, discovery, and recommendation experiences for both merchants and buyers.
在Shopify，我们帮助数百万家企业在我们的平台上销售产品，从手工珠宝到工业设备。理解这些产品，包括它们的类别、属性和特征，对于为商家和买家提供更好的搜索、发现和推荐体验至关重要。
Our journey through product classification has evolved significantly over the years. What started as a basic categorization system has evolved into a system that is built on two key foundations, which we’ll introduce in this post: Vision Language Models and the Shopify Product Taxonomy.
我们在产品分类方面的旅程多年来发生了显著变化。最初的基本分类系统已经演变为一个建立在两个关键基础上的系统，我们将在本帖中介绍： 视觉语言模型 和 Shopify 产品分类法。
The Journey to Better Product Understanding
更好产品理解的旅程
Early Days: Basic Classification
早期阶段：基本分类
Our initial approach to product classification in 2018 focused on basic categorization using traditional machine learning methods with our first model baseline being a logistic regression with TF-IDF classifier. While effective for simple cases, this system struggled with the increasing complexity and diversity of products on our platform.
我们在2018年对产品分类的初步方法专注于使用传统机器学习方法进行基本分类，我们的第一个模型基线是使用TF-IDF分类器的逻辑回归。虽然在简单案例中有效，但该系统在我们平台上日益复杂和多样化的产品面前显得力不从心。
The Multi-Modal Evolution
多模态演变
In 2020, we implemented a multi-modal approach combining image and text data for classification. This multi-modal approach improved our ability to understand products, especially in cases where either text or image alone might be ambiguous. However, we recognized that category classification alone wasn't enough to fully understand products.
在2020年，我们实施了一种多模态方法，结合图像和文本数据进行分类。这种多模态方法提高了我们理解产品的能力，特别是在仅有文本或图像可能模糊的情况下。然而，我们意识到仅靠类别分类不足以完全理解产品。
The Need for Comprehensive Understanding
全面理解的必要性
By early 2023, as our platform grew, we identified several key requirements:
到2023年初，随着我们平台的增长，我们识别出几个关键需求：
- More granular product understanding beyond just categories
- 超越仅仅分类的更...