Item categories give teams direct levers for shaping recommendation output. Categories can be used to filter items out of results entirely, boost the probability that items from a specific category appear, or target particular category segments to a given user. A hierarchical category structure is also supported, allowing one item to belong to multiple categories simultaneously. This means product teams can enforce business rules - such as promoting a seasonal category - without retraining the underlying model. Planning a well-structured category taxonomy at the start of an integration pays dividends in configuration flexibility later.