Automatic detection and extraction of web page data based on visual layout

A method for automatically detecting entity data within a web page, the method comprising:

• detecting a pattern for an entity based on a visual layout of the web page;
• identifying a region of the web page corresponding to the pattern, the region including the entity data in a semi-structured form;
• within the region, detecting a distinct structure of the visual layout;
• identifying a property associated with the entity corresponding to the distinct structure;
• determining an annotation for the property;
• identifying a category for the entity based on the annotation;
• and
• determining a schema for a structured form of the entity data based on the property, the annotation, and the category.

A computer storage media containing computer executable instructions, which when executed by a computer, perform a method for automatically detecting and extracting entity data from a web page, the method comprising:

• automatically detecting the entity data within the web page based on a visual layout of the web page, wherein the entity data is in a semi-structured form within the web page;
• generating a template based on a schema for a structured form of the entity data;
• applying the template to the web page to extract the entity data in the structured form from the web page;
• and
• providing the structured entity data for use in one or more services.