Yandex Türkiye plans new search and AI features

ISTANBUL

Yandex Türkiye has invested $50 million as part of a $400 million plan to enhance its search engine services in Türkiye, according to Alexander Popovskiy, general manager of Yandex Türkiye and CEO of Yandex Search International.

Türkiye's dynamic and competitive e-commerce sector presents a unique opportunity for digital innovation, Popovskiy told state-run Anadolu Agency.

Popovskiy said Yandex has long positioned itself as a bridge between buyers and sellers and is now expanding its tools in Türkiye with the introduction of the Merchants platform.

“This is a tool which is very helpful for merchants currently to get new traffic and control their performance inside Yandex search results,” Popovskiy said.

He added that Yandex Metrica is “a powerful analytics tool” offered for free to help emerging e-commerce platforms track user behavior.

Yandex’s advertising services, which reach more than 100 million people globally, are also being promoted to Turkish businesses. “Many Turkish companies are already successfully using Yandex Ads to grow their reach and boost their sales,” he said.

Popovskiy confirmed that Yandex Türkiye’s initial $50 million investment is part of a $400 million commitment announced last year, focused primarily on enhancing its search engine.

“We are focusing on improving as a finding engine currently. We believe that this is going to be a locomotive for many more Yandex services to follow,” he said.

The company’s AI tool for detailed and source-based answers, Yazeka, has also seen significant uptake among Turkish users.

“Customers now are using AI more and more. It helps them to solve their traditional searching tasks faster and in a more comprehensive way,” Popovskiy explained.