A Grants Portal Comes to MAX Messenger
Russia’s national MAX messenger is evolving into a multifunctional platform for communication and access to a range of services. A new chatbot recommends relevant support programs based on the criteria users enter.
The Portal Grantov (Grants Portal) service has been launched in MAX messenger. The chatbot helps users search for current support programs for projects in education, science, culture, sports and charitable work. Users can filter the search by category, target audience, region, funding amount and application deadline. Once they select a suitable program, they can review its terms and proceed to the application process.
A Path Toward a Universal Platform
With services like this, the messenger is becoming a universal platform where people can not only communicate but also access government, social and commercial services. MAX is following the international trend toward building digital ecosystems. Students, researchers, entrepreneurs, nonprofits and participants in creative projects can more easily find competitions and grant programs that offer support. That, in turn, could expand participation in such programs, since all the necessary information is now available at their fingertips, just one query away.
MAX will most likely, like other multifunctional platforms, adopt new technologies as they emerge in the digital world. An AI-powered search tool and an application assistant for the Portal Grantov have already been announced. Over time, the grant search could be expanded to include educational programs, competition alerts, and tools for communication between participants and organizers.
The service’s technology model – an embedded catalog of support opportunities within a messenger – could become a promising export offering. Potential markets for this model include CIS countries, nations that use Russian IT solutions, and other markets where platforms for digital interaction between governments and citizens are in demand.
AI Assistants – A Popular and Convenient Format
Digital platforms and support services in Russia have developed in parallel. The first development institution to move its operations online, back in the late 2010s, was the Presidential Grants Foundation. Around the same time, the presidential Rossiya – strana vozmozhnostey (Russia – Land of Opportunity) platform was launched, bringing together dozens of projects for managers, students, young professionals, entrepreneurs and developers. The Drugoe Delo (Other Business) mini-app also appeared on the VKontakte social network, offering a way to find social, educational and volunteer opportunities. By 2023, the project had attracted nearly 3 million users. It was one of the first examples of a search platform embedded in an app people were already familiar with. This model proved to have the greatest potential.
2025 saw rapid growth in AI assistants for searching for information of various kinds. Such assistants began to be integrated into federal and regional government services. A conversation with a virtual assistant, in which the user describes a task and the system suggests suitable options, is the most natural way to search for information. That is why AI tools that provide answers, recommendations and navigation through large volumes of data are in demand across a wide range of fields. The Portal Grantov in MAX messenger follows this broader trend.
The Number of Services as a Competitive Advantage
The Russian government identifies the platform economy and the development of domestic solutions as priority areas for the IT sector. Further development of the Portal Grantov and other services embedded in popular platforms can therefore be expected to follow.
The Portal Grantov could become popular among students, scientists, entrepreneurs and people working in creative fields. These groups are among those most likely to seek support programs, but they do not always know where to find information about available opportunities. In the future, such services could be integrated with other digital tools, including government services, educational platforms, financial services and identification systems. Russian ecosystems could then compete not only on the sophistication of their online communication technologies but also on the number of services available to users.
