Alice AI’s Quiet Revolution: May Updates Could Save Users Money on Shopping and Simplify Photo Editing
Yandex has taught its Alice AI neural network several new skills. The assistant can now remove image backgrounds quickly and accurately, instantly animate edited photos, and answer questions about specific areas within an image. Meanwhile, the Find Cheaper shopping agent has become even more convenient by adding product searches based on item names.
Users now have access to new tools for handling a wide range of everyday and work-related tasks, including preparing images without graphic-editing software, creating short videos, comparing prices across online marketplaces, and much more.
Photo Editing Like a Designer? Easy.
Alice AI can now remove backgrounds from images in just a few steps. Users simply open the “Animate Photo” section, select “Edit,” upload an image, and ask the neural network: “Remove the background from this image.” The result is a clean cutout on a transparent background that can be downloaded as a PNG file for further use. Working with specific parts of a photo is equally straightforward. Users can tap the uploaded image preview to open it full-screen, highlight a particular area, and send that selection directly into the chat. Alice AI will then answer questions about that specific part of the image only.
Notably, photo uploads and editing tools are available even to users who are not logged in. Developers have also merged photo editing and animation into a single workflow. Once a user finishes editing an image, an “Animate” button appears on screen. Selecting it automatically switches the system into animation mode with the edited image already loaded, so users only need to generate the short video.
Finding the Right Product at the Right Price
The Find Cheaper AI agent has also been upgraded. It can now identify products from either a link or a product name. The virtual assistant presents multiple model options and adds market-based price indicators next to listings, including “Below Market,” “OK Price,” and “Above Market.” These labels help users quickly determine whether an offer is competitive. In addition, users can now choose a search region, a feature that is particularly useful when ordering gifts for someone in another city.
The latest Alice AI updates represent an important step in the evolution of a mass-market Russian AI service within the Yandex ecosystem. Generative AI, computer vision, and e-commerce capabilities are now combined within a single digital platform.
The Focus Is on Universal AI Systems
The updates demonstrate that developers are moving toward universal assistants capable of working with images and products, managing search tasks, and comparing prices across marketplaces and online stores. Such versatile neural networks could become everyday consumer tools, helping people edit photos without specialized software, create short-form videos, and identify the best shopping deals. The continued development of Russian AI ecosystems may reduce dependence on foreign alternatives while helping domestic companies compete for user attention in AI-powered search, visual editing, and e-commerce.
Over time, Alice AI could become a daily interface for interacting with other Yandex services, including Search, shopping tools, Maps, and a wide range of practical digital services. From the outset, the platform was designed as a universal neural network focused on solving real-world tasks rather than functioning as a standalone conversational chatbot.
The strongest prospects may lie in e-commerce-related features. Russia’s online retail market reached 11.5 trillion rubles (approximately $153 billion) in 2025. The continued expansion of digital commerce is creating a domestic market for AI agents that help users find products and identify attractive offers. Photo-processing tools are likely to be particularly valuable for marketplace sellers, social media marketing specialists, small businesses, and users who need to create product listings, illustrations, or social-media graphics quickly without relying on professional software.
Today, Yandex’s neural network primarily serves Russian-speaking users and local services. However, many of its new capabilities could eventually be exported as B2B components. Visual-editing tools, AI-powered product search, recommendation engines, and agent-based workflows may all find commercial demand. Analysts see the CIS region and other countries with Russian-speaking audiences familiar with Yandex services as the most likely initial markets.
