Russian technology company Yandex has developed a new AI agent that specializes in processing user calls and booking various services. It is expected that this innovative project will become a new milestone in the automation of communication with clients for service industry entrepreneurs. The portal Ixbt.com reports this.
The new AI Hostess system can communicate in natural language with customers calling restaurants, cafes and other service locations. According to ixbt.com, the virtual assistant continues to take customer requests even when employees are busy or after hours. This allows business owners not to lose potential customers.
Technological base and capabilities
The system is based on Yandex’s own developments, including Alice AI LLM (large language model) and speech recognition and synthesis technologies. This combination allows the AI agent to understand human speech in real time and respond just like a real person. During the conversation, the robot determines the required time, checks availability and confirms the reservation.
If there are no available seats at the time requested by the client, the smart assistant offers alternative options. In difficult situations or special user requests, the system immediately redirects the call to the responsible employee. This helps maintain a high level of customer service.
Currently, the new technology is being tested in partner restaurants of the Yandex.Food service. According to the company’s analysis, the virtual agent successfully processed user requests 99 percent of the time. This includes asking follow-up questions, filtering spam calls, and making your own table reservations.
Future plans and applications
Yandex does not intend to limit this solution to catering establishments in the future. AI-hostess technology is planned to be implemented in the following areas:
- Beauty salons and hairdressers;
- Medical clinics and dental centers;
- Auto repair shops and technical service centers;
- Fitness centers and sports clubs.
At a time when demand for digital services and solutions based on artificial intelligence is growing in the Uzbek market, the emergence of such technologies may also be of interest to local business representatives. Automation of services helps improve efficiency, especially in large cities such as Tashkent, where the flow of customers is high.
In conclusion, we note that the AI agent presented by Yandex is not just a technical development, but an important tool for small and medium-sized businesses to reduce the workload on employees. Popularization of the system could completely change the process of making telephone appointments in the future.