Introduction

Recombee integration transforms AIPersonalize360 from smart recommendations to truly personalized AI-powered suggestions. This guide covers everything you need to set up and optimize Recombee for your WooCommerce store.

Recombee is a machine learning recommendation engine that learns from user behavior to deliver increasingly accurate personalized product suggestions.

What is Recombee?

Recombee is a cloud-based recommendation engine that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to personalize product recommendations. It:

  • Tracks User Behavior: Views, cart additions, purchases
  • Learns Preferences: Identifies patterns and preferences
  • Predicts Interest: Suggests products users are likely to buy
  • Improves Over Time: Gets smarter with more data

Benefits of AI Integration

  • Personalized recommendations for each registered user
  • Higher conversion rates (typically 20-50% improvement)
  • Increased average order value
  • Better customer engagement
  • Reduced cart abandonment

Getting Started with Recombee

Step 1: Create Recombee Account

  1. Visit Recombee.com
  2. Click “Sign Up” or “Get Started”
  3. Choose a plan:
    • Free Tier: Limited interactions, perfect for testing
    • Paid Plans: Higher limits, advanced features
  4. Complete registration
  5. Verify your email address

Step 2: Create a Database

  1. Log in to Recombee dashboard
  2. Click “Create Database”
  3. Enter database details:
    • Title: Your store name (e.g., “My Store – Production”)
    • Region: Choose closest to your server (us-west, eu-west, etc.)
    • Domain: Select “E-Commerce”
  4. Click “Create”
  5. Database is created instantly

Step 3: Get API Credentials

  1. In Recombee dashboard, open your database
  2. Go to Settings page
  3. Find “API ID & Tokens” section
  4. Copy these three values:
    • Database ID: Your database name
    • Private Token: Secret API key
    • Region: Server region (e.g., “us-west”)
Security Warning

Keep your Private Token secret! Never share it publicly or commit it to version control. It provides full access to your Recombee database.

Configure Plugin for Recombee

Enter Recombee Credentials

  1. In WordPress, go to AIPersonalize360 → Settings
  2. Under “AI Engine”, select Recombee from dropdown
  3. Enter your credentials:
    • Database Name: Your Recombee database ID
    • Private Token: Your Recombee private token
    • Region: Your selected region (e.g., “us-west”)
  4. Click Save Changes
Connection Established

Once saved, the plugin will automatically begin syncing your products and users to Recombee.

Initial Data Synchronization

What Gets Synced

When you first enable Recombee, the plugin automatically syncs:

Products (Items)

  • Product ID
  • Product title
  • Product description
  • Categories
  • Price
  • Brand (if available)
  • Image URL
  • Availability status

Users

  • User ID (WordPress user ID)
  • Registration date
  • User role

Sync Process

  1. Plugin connects to Recombee API
  2. Automatically creates required properties in Recombee
  3. Uploads all WooCommerce products as “items”
  4. Uploads all registered users
  5. Process runs in background
  6. Typically completes in 1-5 minutes

Verify Sync Completed

  1. Log in to Recombee dashboard
  2. Open your database
  3. Navigate to Catalog → Items
  4. You should see your WooCommerce products listed
  5. Navigate to Catalog → Users
  6. You should see your WordPress users listed

Ongoing Synchronization

Daily Automatic Sync

AIPersonalize360 uses WordPress cron to sync data daily:

  • Frequency: Once every 24 hours
  • What Syncs: New products, updated products, new users
  • When: Runs in background, doesn’t affect site performance

Manual Sync (Coming Soon)

Future versions will include a manual sync button for immediate updates.

Real-Time Event Tracking

User interactions are tracked in real-time:

  • Product Views: Logged when user views product page
  • Cart Additions: Logged when user adds to cart
  • Purchases: Logged when order is completed

Event Tracking

Tracked Events

1. Detail View

  • Triggered: User views a product page
  • Data Sent: User ID, Product ID, timestamp
  • Purpose: Learn browsing preferences

2. Add to Cart

  • Triggered: User adds product to cart
  • Data Sent: User ID, Product ID, quantity, timestamp
  • Purpose: Identify purchase intent

3. Purchase

  • Triggered: Order is completed
  • Data Sent: User ID, Product IDs, quantities, order value, timestamp
  • Purpose: Learn actual purchase behavior

Event Data Flow

  1. User performs action (view/cart/purchase)
  2. Plugin captures event
  3. Data sent to Recombee API in real-time
  4. Recombee updates user profile
  5. Recommendations improve immediately

Recommendation Scenarios

Recombee provides different recommendation strategies:

Personalized for User

  • Based on individual user’s history
  • Learns from views, carts, purchases
  • Most accurate for active users

Similar Items

  • Products similar to current item
  • Based on content and behavior
  • Perfect for related products
  • Popular products across all users
  • Weighted by recency
  • Good for new or guest users

Recombee Analytics

Accessing Analytics

  1. Log in to Recombee dashboard
  2. Open your database
  3. Navigate to Analytics → KPI

Key Metrics

  • Recommendations Shown: Total recommendations displayed
  • Clicked Recommendations: Number of clicks on recommended products
  • Click-Through Rate: Percentage of recommendations clicked
  • Purchases from Recommendations: Conversion tracking
  • Revenue Impact: Sales attributed to recommendations

Interaction Tracking

View detailed interaction timelines:

  • Views over time
  • Cart additions over time
  • Purchases over time
  • Peak activity periods

Optimizing Recombee Performance

Data Quality

  1. Complete Product Data:
    • Add detailed descriptions
    • Include product images
    • Set proper categories
    • Add product attributes
  2. Consistent Categorization:
    • Use clear category structure
    • Avoid overlapping categories
    • Tag products appropriately

Sufficient Data Volume

  • Minimum 100+ interactions for good results
  • 1000+ interactions for excellent personalization
  • Allow 1-2 weeks for AI to learn patterns

Regular Monitoring

  • Check Recombee dashboard weekly
  • Review click-through rates
  • Analyze conversion metrics
  • Adjust strategy based on data

Troubleshooting Recombee

Products not syncing

  • Verify credentials are correct
  • Check WordPress cron is working
  • Look for error messages in Recombee dashboard
  • Ensure products are published in WooCommerce

Recommendations not personalizing

  • Ensure user is logged in
  • Check if user has interaction history
  • Allow time for AI to learn (minimum 10+ interactions)
  • Verify events are being tracked in Recombee dashboard

Connection errors

  • Verify Private Token is correct
  • Check region matches your database
  • Ensure server can connect to Recombee API
  • Check for firewall blocking external requests

Best Practices

  • Start Small: Use free tier to test, upgrade when ready
  • Monitor Closely: Watch analytics for first month
  • Be Patient: AI needs time and data to learn
  • Keep Data Fresh: Ensure daily sync is working
  • Test Scenarios: Try different recommendation placements
  • A/B Test: Compare with/without AI to measure impact