Yandex has taught Alice to make phone calls on behalf of users

The AI assistant Alice AI has begun making phone calls to organizations and individuals on behalf of its owner in test mode. Product manager Sergey Mikhailov announced the launch of the feature.

The new capability allows the neural network to carry out specific tasks via voice. The assistant is able to voice a list of questions prepared by the user, understand the responses of the person on the other end of the line, and conduct a dialogue using follow-up questions.

In current use cases, the system can be applied to book appointments for users, as well as to reserve tables in cafes and restaurants.

The feature shifts AI assistants from passively responding to requests to independently interacting with external infrastructure via the telephone network.