Search engine Yandex has launched a new platform for content creation and distribution, named Yandex Zen.
Yandex Zen is an AI-powered, personalized content feed that reaches millions of users globally. The platform welcomes contributions from large media companies to individual bloggers alike.
In addition to potentially expanding a publisher’s audience, Yandex Zen also offers the chance to monetize published content.
“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,” the company states.
Yandex Zen stands out from other content distribution platforms with its flip-through format, enabling the inclusion of photos, GIFs, and videos in its publications, known as “Narratives.”
Besides appearing on its own domain, content from Yandex Zen will also be recommended to those using the Yandex browser, the Yandex mobile app, and Yandex’s main home page. The platform’s recommendation engine is AI-driven, ensuring personalized content for each user.
Yandex Zen currently achieves an impressive time-on-site metric, with users spending an average of 20 minutes per day. This indicates that once readers enter the Yandex Zen ecosystem, they engage with multiple pieces of content.
At present, Yandex Zen is available only in Russia, but the company plans to expand to other markets soon.
