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

Yandex developed Sona, a generative AI model that unifies candidate generation and ranking into a single transformer, replacing multiple stages in recommendation pipelines. Tested on Yandex smart speakers, Sona improved efficiency by handling over 15 candidate generators and ranking stages in one system without hand-engineered features.