Yandex Introduces Sona: A Single Generative Recommender That Replaces Entire Recommendation Cascade

MarkTechPost · 1 week ago · 37

Yandex introduced Sona, a generative recommender model that replaces a multi-stage recommendation cascade with one served transformer combining candidate generation and ranking. In a 7-day A/B test on its smart speakers, it replaced more than 15 candidate generators plus the pre-ranking and ranking stages. The change improved metrics such as active users (+4.53%), total listening time (+6.30%), and likes (+11.42%) for the test group.