Communications of the ACM

On the Internet, we have experienced massive growth in systems that can personalize content delivered to individual users. The science behind personalization has undergone tremendous changes in recent years, yet the basic goal of personalization systems remains the same: to provide users with what they want or need without requiring them to ask for it explicitly. Personalization is the provision to the individual of tailored products, services, information or information relating to products or service. It is a broad area, also covering recommender systems, customization, and adaptive Web sites.