Guide automatic discovery with clear exclusions
The GoScript Smart Cart Recommendations WordPress plugin is designed to surface useful add-ons from real purchase patterns. Global exclusions give you a simple way to protect that experience: remove products, categories, or tags that should not enter the recommendation pool, while leaving the rest of your catalogue free to be discovered.
Use exclusions to reflect your product strategy, protect special ranges, and keep every Cart recommendation section feeling intentional rather than generic.
Exclude individual products
Add a product to the global exclusion list when it should never appear as a Cart suggestion. This is a strong choice for products that need a dedicated buying path, products with special handling, or items you simply do not want to promote through the Cart recommendation section.
Individual exclusions are precise: they let the rest of the product’s category and tags continue to contribute useful candidates, while that one item stays out of automatic recommendations.
Exclude whole product categories
Use category exclusions to set a broader merchandising boundary. For example, you may want Cart recommendations to focus on physical add-ons while keeping service packages, gift cards, clearance lines, or another category out of the discovery flow.
Focused catalogue pathsKeep recommendation space for the product areas you want shoppers to discover together.
Efficient controlApply one category rule instead of managing exclusions product by product.Category exclusions are especially helpful when a group of products shares the same commercial purpose or needs different merchandising treatment.
Use tags for flexible catalogue rules
Tag exclusions offer a lightweight way to protect groups that cross category boundaries. Apply a tag to products that are seasonal, restricted, bundled, internal, or otherwise unsuitable for Cart recommendations, then exclude that tag from the plugin’s global settings.
This gives your team a practical editorial control: update the product tag in WooCommerce, and your recommendation rules stay aligned as the catalogue changes.
Exclusions work alongside the plugin’s eligibility checks
Global exclusions are one part of a dependable eligibility layer. Smart Cart Recommendations also keeps products already in the Cart, unpublished products, hidden products, out-of-stock products, non-purchasable products, and duplicate candidates out of the final recommendation section.
Pair exclusions with your other controls
Exclusions complement the order-history settings, category and tag matching rule, fallback behaviour, and product-level choices in your GoScript Smart Cart Recommendations WordPress plugin. Together, those controls help you balance smart discovery with a Cart experience that stays true to your store.
After saving Settings, the plugin clears its recommendation cache. Refresh a representative Cart to see your updated rules immediately and confirm the suggestions fit your current catalogue plan.
Next steps
Continue refining the controls that shape which products appear, how they are selected, and when the Cart section is shown.
Manual recommendations for individual productsChoose direct product suggestions when you want precise control.→
Which products are eligible to be recommended?Understand the final checks behind a useful Cart section.→
Category and tag matching rulesUse catalogue relevance to focus history-based candidates.→