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Merchandising Rule Components in Agentic Commerce Search
Use this reference to look up conditions, actions, priority behavior, and configuration guidelines for merchandising rules in Agentic Commerce Search for B2C Commerce.
Every rule has three components: conditions, actions, and priority.
Conditions: A rule can be global or scoped to a specific query or category. Query-specific rules apply when the shopper's search text matches defined terms with "equals" or "contains" logic. Category-specific rules apply only to a specific category page.
Actions: Combine multiple actions within a single rule. For a complete list of action types, see Merchandising Rule Action Types in Agentic Commerce Search.
Priority is a numeric weight that determines which rule takes effect when multiple rules match the same query or category. Higher numbers win. If a pin and a boost apply to the same product within the same rule, then the pin takes the fixed position. The boost applies to all remaining results. If pin and boost exist in separate rules that target the same product, then the higher-priority rule wins.
Guidelines for Configuring Rules
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Use boosts before pins. Boosts influence ranking without overriding AI; reserve pins for firm positional requirements such as contractual placements or campaign hero items.
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Use Global Rules for sitewide policies. Create rules based on product attributes and apply the rules globally to enforce sitewide standards. Bury and Exclude actions work well for products you want to suppress consistently across all searches and categories.
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Avoid stacking boost rules. Combine Broad Rank Boost and Relative Position Boost as actions within a single rule instead of separate rules with the same conditions.
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Schedule campaign rules. Set start and end dates so promotional rules turn off automatically and don't affect baseline relevance after the campaign ends.
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Use consistent naming. Follow a pattern such as [Campaign]-[RuleType]-[Scope]-[YYYY-MM-DD] to make rules easier to find and manage.
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Resolve conflicts regularly. Check the Conflicts count in the Rules Dashboard and use the Conflicting Rules filter to find and resolve competing rules.
Examples
Rule coexistence example: For a spring sale, a merchandiser creates three rules. A Pin rule targets a partner brand's categories and expires after the sale. Two global rules handle the rest: a Bury rule for products with a clearance product attribute and a Boost rule for products flagged as new arrivals. The three rules coexist without conflict because they target different products and positions.
Priority and conflict example: Two rules both target the query "mascara": one pins a featured product at position 1 with priority 20, and one applies a brand boost with priority 10. Because the pin rule has higher priority (20 > 10), it wins for the pinned position. The boost rule still applies to all other nonpinned results, affecting their ranking within the remaining positions.
