New Yandex search engine delivers AI tailored for Turkish users

By Sibel Morrow

ISTANBUL (AA) - Yandex has launched an artificial intelligence (AI)-integrated search service developed specifically for Turkish users.

Designed specifically for the Turkish language structure, the service, called Yazeka with Yandex Search, aims to differentiate itself from its competitors by offering a multi-source and transparent search experience, allowing users to directly see the sources of search results.

The service aims to deliver the most accurate answers by supporting all online information sources with citations and is expected to transform users' search habits.

-Yazeka aims to offer transparent access

Yazeka with Yandex Search redefines traditional search engines by providing summarized answers compiled from multiple sources.

At the launch event for Yazeka, Yandex Search Türkiye CEO Alexander Popovskiy emphasized that search engines have evolved beyond being mere tools for information retrieval.

“We are now in an era when search engines quickly analyze the request and summarize the result,” he said. “The era when search engines eliminate the need to sort through all those hundreds of blue links.”

“This is the era when search engines ultimately empower end-users to make quick, efficient decisions,” Popovskiy added.

He said Yazeka represents a transformation for Yandex, turning it from a traditional search engine into what he called a “finding engine.”

"This was the period when Yandex actually started to evolve from the search engine to a comprehensive ecosystem of different services trying to solve customer tasks deeper and fully," he said.

Underlining that this process is much more “predictable” than productive AI models such as ChatGPT, Popovskiy said: “This transparency is the key difference that sets us apart from traditional chatbots. Users can see which part of the response is based on which source and can easily access these sources for more information.”​​​​​​​

Pointing to the importance of offering users alternatives, he said: “We do not adopt a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach as our global competitors do. We offer customized solutions that fit the cultural dynamics, language and business needs of each country. In this sense, we have developed a special system for our users in Türkiye.”

- Data security ‘top priority’

Emphasizing that Yandex attaches great importance to data security, Popovskiy said: “We will gradually move our servers to Türkiye to provide faster access to our users. This will both increase access speed and provide an infrastructure for service development.”

Popovskiy noted that Yandex's return to Türkiye is not only due to the growing interest in artificial intelligence and search engines but also the country's growing market potential and legal regulations that make this potential more attractive.

Noting that Yandex's return to the Turkish market is not limited to a new search engine technology, Popovskiy said the company wants to increase its investments in Türkiye and announced that they invested $20 million in 2024 and plans to invest $400 million in Türkiye in the next three years.

Popovskiy said this investment covers many areas, such as the development of artificial intelligence technology, the expansion of Yandex Search and Yazeka in Türkiye, the relocation of servers and data centers to Türkiye, advertising campaigns and local partnership projects.

Stating that they will continue to develop and improve Yazeka in line with the demands of users in order to offer more advanced functionality, Popovskiy said the application will also be used to summarize user reviews of cafes, restaurants and other points of interest on Yandex Maps with the support of artificial intelligence to provide users with short and understandable information.

'Tools like Yazeka allow users to get comprehensive answers in seconds instead of spending hours researching a topic. This transformation may lead users to turn more to search engines. We predict that as AI-generated summaries become more common, users will start asking questions they haven't asked before. This change presents both challenges and opportunities for Yandex Türkiye. But one thing is clear: the demand for search engines is growing again and we are well positioned to meet these needs,” he said.