Yandex has launched a machine learning powered content recommendation platform for publishers to create and distribute content.
The Yandex Zen platform will now allow publishers (media companies, content creators and even ordinary users) to publish their content directly on the platform, providing a flip-through format .
Publishers will be able to use Yandex Zen to create their own channels with text, video and advertisements, run media projects, and experiment with mobile formats. Companies can use it to tell their stories, promote their brands, distribute marketing materials and use native advertising to engage with their customers. For independent authors, Yandex Zen offers a means to earn money from advertising while publishing their stories to a wide audience.
In addition to being published on the Yandex Zen domain, content from the platform will be recommended to those who use the Yandex browser, the Yandex mobile app, and Yandex's own home page.
"Just think how many great stories never get heard because they fail to reach their audience. Now artificial intelligence can solve this problem," said Yandex Zen head Victor Lamburt. "There are stories everywhere: journalists report on important events, companies announce their products, bloggers write about anything and everything. Our goal is to give them new storytelling tools and find an appreciative audience for every story."
The publishing tool has already been used by brands including Nike, Quiksilver, Vogue, MAXIM, Esquire, RBC media group, geographic magazine Vokrug Sveta, and many popular Russian video bloggers.
Currently Russia's largest source of traffic for media sites both on desktop and mobile devices, Yandex Zen currently has a daily audience of 6 million people in Russia alone and is available in 50 languages and in more than 100 countries. What's more, interaction on the platform seems quite impressive, with the average daily time spent by users at abou 20 minutes.
