🚀 Release 2026-62

Release date: Sep 2, 2026

TL;DR: Bloomreach Advanced base ranker (ABR) is now generally available for category ranking.

Optimize category ranking experience with Bloomreach Advanced base ranker

We're excited to announce that Bloomreach Advanced base ranker (ABR) is now generally available for category ranking. ABR replaces existing category ranking with an algorithm trained on your own catalog's category-browsing behavior, so the products shoppers see first are backed by revenue, purchases, add-to-carts, and views.

What's new

• Ranking algorithm trained on your catalog: ABR learns from how shoppers browse and buy within each of your categories, ranking products by category performance and overall product performance instead of static rules.
• Full signal transparency: View the full signal weight breakdown for any category algorithm in Ranking studio. See exactly how category performance and overall product performance combine to drive ranking.
• Starting point for customization: Train a catalog-specific algorithm, then layer on custom signals like sales forecasts, margin scores, return rates, or stock levels to fit ranking to your business.
• Automatic fallback for lower-traffic catalogs: If a catalog doesn't yet have enough category data, ABR uses the Bloomreach global category algorithm until your catalog qualifies for its own algorithm. It is a pre-built model trained on aggregated behavioral data.
• Enhanced RPV performance: Comparative testing shows that ABR for categories delivers a 1-3% increase in revenue per visit (RPV) compared with the legacy Bloomreach data algorithm.
  

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  Important

  Category ABR doesn't currently support performance sharing, recall expansion, or catalog-wide variant slicing. If your account uses any of these, reach out to your Customer Success Manager before enabling category ABR to understand the impact.

Why is this valuable

• ABR improves business outcomes by ranking category products on how your shoppers actually browse and buy, rather than a one-size-fits-all rule.
• Signal transparency means you can see and understand what's driving your category ranking, not just the output.
• Catalogs without enough category history still get behavior-driven ranking through the Bloomreach global category algorithm, with no manual setup required.

Get started

Category ABR is available via Ranking studio. Based on your account, you'll see one of the following:

• If category ABR is already live on your catalog, it shows as In use in the Algorithms tab.
• If category ABR is trained and available, you can start an A/B test to validate performance before switching, or apply it directly.

Migration

• Rollback options: Your previous category algorithm (Classic ranking or a custom algorithm) stays available. Switch back anytime from the Rules tab.
• LTR training: Once category ABR is enabled for your account, you can't train new LTR category algorithms. Algorithms you trained before ABR was enabled stay usable.

Access

Category ABR rolls out based on account state:

• Accounts already using category LTR get their ABR algorithm trained and applied automatically (no action needed).
• Other accounts get an ABR algorithm trained and available to test whenever you're ready.
• New accounts that get onboarded after the GA have category ABR active from day one.

Data requirements

Make sure you're sending pixel data and any custom signals in the required format. These are essential for accurate algorithm training. No additional integration work is required, and the Search and Category API response format is unchanged.

Learn more

Review the Category ranking with ABR overview and the setup guide. See the feature FAQs on both pages for common questions.