Overview

The Cross-Sell algorithm recommends products from related categories based on the category of the product a shopper is viewing.

Cross-Sell introduces category priorities to control recommendation order, AI-generated rules for unmapped categories, usage-based category mapping limits, and relaxed or strict product resolution for custom algorithms. These updates provide greater control over recommendations and reduce unnecessary fallback processing.

Category Priority

Category priority controls the order in which companion categories fill recommendation slots. Priority 1 fills first, followed by priority 2, then priority 3.

For example, if Leggings is the anchor category, recommendations come from Capes first, Spring second, and Asymmetric Tops third.

To change the order, edit the rule in the Cross-Sell algorithm and update the priorities. Existing rules are assigned priorities based on their original category mapping order, and these priorities can be changed anytime.

For Example:

How Category Priority Works

When multiple companion categories are mapped to an anchor category, priority determines which category fills recommendation slots first.

ANCHOR CATEGORY

Leggings

Recommendation order

Capes

Fills slots first

Spring

Fills slots next

Asymmetric Tops

Fills remaining slots

To change the order: Open the Cross-Sell algorithm, edit the rule, reorder the priorities, and update.

Existing rules retain their original category mapping order through automatically assigned priorities. Priorities can be changed anytime.

AI Cross-Sell

AI Cross-sell adds AI-generated rules for categories a retailer has not manually mapped. It only works once AI Complete The Looks mappings have been generated for the site.

Enable AI Cross-Sell

This is an internal, Unbxd only workflow that has to run before AI Cross-sell becomes available to you.

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Internal only
This workflow is only accessible to Unbxd users; retailers cannot reach the Account Management page.

Click the profile icon, then Account Management.
Click the edit icon and turn on Generate AI mappings.
Raise a support ticket for AI CTL enablement.
After the ticket is resolved and the mappings start existing, the AI rules prompt appears in the Cross-Sell algorithm.

Review and Manage AI Rules

AI rules are never added automatically. You have to review and approve AI rules before anything changes.

Open the Cross-Sell algorithm's edit view. A prompt asks whether to add AI rules to cross-sell.
Click Review AI rules to see every generated rule.
Click Add rules to cross-sell to accept them.

Once rules are added, the algorithm badge shows AI alongside Configurable, and each rule is tagged AI (generated) or Manual (added by the retailer). Refer to the table below for situation-based use cases

Situation	What happens
If a manual rule already exists for a category	The manual rule is kept; the AI rule for that category is skipped
If the marketer edits and updates an AI rule	It becomes a manual rule
If the AI mappings are regenerated	Manual rules persist; they are never removed

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Good to Know

No changes are done to rules they have set up manually. AI only adds rules for categories they have not covered, and they can edit any rule afterward.

Mappings are generated with priority already applied.

Category Mapping Limit

The new mapping limit depends on how many categories a customer already uses.

Current Usage	Updated Limit
Uses 18 mapped categories	No change, stays at 18
Uses fewer than 18	Limited to 5

Customers already using 18 mapped categories are not affected.

Product Resolution: Relaxed vs. Strict

Product resolution determines how the Cross-Sell algorithm fills recommendation slots when the anchor category's rule does not provide enough products.

Relaxed Resolution

Relaxed is the default setting. If the anchor category cannot fill all slots, the recommender checks its parent category and continues up the category hierarchy until enough products are found. If slots remain unfilled, it uses the retailer's fallback and then the system fallback.

Strict Resolution

Strict resolution uses only the anchor category's rule and does not check parent categories or use fallback algorithms.

Strict resolution is available only for custom algorithms. To enable it, create a custom algorithm, select Cross-Sell, and set Product Resolution to Strict.

Configurable Cross-Sell algorithms and Cross-Sell used as a fallback always use relaxed resolution.

Product Ordering in Strict Mode

When strict resolution is enabled, products can be ordered in two ways. For example, with 15 recommendation slots and 5 mapped companion categories:

Ordering Mode	How It Works	Result
Default (Priority)	Distributes slots evenly across the 5 categories, giving each category 3 slots. Categories fill slots according to their priority.	Ensures every mapped category is represented.
Popularity	Combines products from all 5 categories and ranks them by popularity.	More popular products appear first, but some categories may not appear in the recommendations.

Caveats and Limitations

AI Cross-sell needs AI CTL. It only works once Generate AI mappings is turned on and the verification team has confirmed the mappings exist.
Account Management is internal. Retailers cannot turn on AI mappings themselves.
Strict resolution is custom algorithm only. Configurable Cross-Sell and Cross-Sell as a fallback always use relaxed.
Popularity ordering can drop categories. A low popularity companion category may not appear at all if high popularity products from a single category fill every slot.
The mapping limit drops to 5 for customers not already using 18 mapped categories.