MOSCOW, November 5. /TASS/. Sberbank’s GigaChat neural network will be used to process inquiries for Russian President Vladimir Putin's Direct Line call-in show, phasing out automated answering machines and improving call handling, Sberbank CEO Herman Gref announced during the president’s meeting with government members.

"This year, building on past practices, we are completely turning off the automated answering system because it places an immense strain on the lines and could not handle the volume. Callers had to dictate their problems to an answering machine within one minute. Many elderly people call, and they were very often cut off after a minute without fully formulating their requests. This year, we have introduced two innovations. We will now have a GigaChat operator and a GigaChat assistant," Gref said.

He added that under the previous format, half of all incoming inquiries received no feedback. Callers did not have enough time to leave their contact details, making it difficult for specialists to reach back out with a solution.

Gref noted that the AI operator will run 24/7, and the time limit per inquiry will increase to 30 minutes. This will allow people to speak at length and clearly state their concerns, while the neural network will be able to ask clarifying questions. Sberbank expects this to drive a fivefold increase in the number of complete and detailed inquiries.

The AI assistant will tactfully probe for the core of the problem if a caller, due to anxiety, omits key details. The Sberbank chief expressed confidence that this will allow relevant authorities to resolve 90% of inquiries on the first attempt, eliminating the need to call citizens back for clarification.

Furthermore, artificial intelligence will provide automated routing for all requests, independently directing inquiries to the specific government agency or commercial organization responsible for resolving the matter.