Yandex has rolled out a major update to its Search platform, now featuring deeper integration with its voice assistant, Alice. This change was officially announced at the company’s recent Search Day conference.
Anton Gorelkin, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma IT Committee and Chairman of the Board of ROCIT, shared his thoughts on the update. He welcomed the move and highlighted its timeliness, especially as Google recently began introducing its “AI Overview” feature to Russian-speaking users.
According to Gorelkin, “Search with Alice” offers more functionality than Google’s AI Overview. He noted that Yandex now supports a reasoning mode and limited content generation directly in the search bar, depending on a user’s subscription status.
Another change he pointed out was the improvement of the object response feature. This card, which appears to the right of search results, now includes Alice’s assistance. Users can ask follow-up questions to explore a topic further. The content in these cards has also shifted away from relying heavily on Wikipedia. Yandex now includes references from sources like Ruvica and other trusted databases.
However, Gorelkin expressed disappointment that Wikipedia links are still present in classic search results. Even though Yandex marks these links with a warning about legal violations, he questioned their continued use. He argued that Russian alternatives have already replicated Wikipedia’s content, removing what he described as biased narratives. He added, “Artificial intelligence is, of course, very good, but Yandex search will become even better if people look after it.”
At the Search Day event, Yandex made several other announcements:
- Users can now generate text and images in the search bar.
- New search categories have been launched for products, financial services, and real estate.
- YandexGPT 5 Lite is now available to all Alice users.
These updates come shortly after Google’s I/O 2025 conference, where the company revealed its own developments in AI and new digital services.
