A total of 10,100 unique users have interacted with the assistant, which is powered by the neural network GigaChat

Sber’s AI assistant, powered by the GigaChat language model, handled more than 210,000 inquiries from participants of the International Festival of Youth, held in Ekaterinburg from September 11 to 17.

The Festival brought together 10,000 young people from 191 countries: 5,000 participants came from various regions of Russia, while another 5,000 from abroad. More than 2,000 volunteers helped organize and run the event.

The GigaChat-powered AI assistant was available within the International Festival of Youth app. Through it, users could build a personalized schedule based on their topics and speakers of interest, map out routes across the venue with estimated travel time, and get advice on organization-related matters or summaries of past sessions.

The GigaChat large language model understands natural language prompts while simultaneously taking several parameters into account: session topics, travel time to locations, and the layout of the venue. This allowed users to accomplish multi-step tasks with a single prompt, such as planning a route that covered several talks of interest without having to manually search through the app’s sections.

On average, each unique user made around 21 requests to the assistant. Participants could return to the service throughout the Festival to check the schedule, find the venues they needed, and build routes.

In addition, the service included a Russian-English translator in both directions. The assistant also served as a tool through which participants earned Coins – a special currency awarded for completing activities at Sber's stand. These could be spent on merchandise, used to display a greeting on the kinetic wall, or exchanged for an autograph session with Vanya Dmitrienko.

The AI assistant became part of the International Festival of Youth's digital infrastructure, helping participants navigate both its busy program and the event grounds.

The AI assistant became part of the digital infrastructure of the International Festival of Youth and helped participants navigate the busy program and the event area.

Overview:

The International Festival of Youth, held as part of the Youth and Children national project, was taking place in Ekaterinburg from September 11 to 17, 2026. The decree establishing the event was signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin on December 29, 2025. The Festival is being held under the motto “Follow Your Dream”.

Participants of the IFY – 2026 include 10,000 young leaders from 191 countries, including 5,000 Russians and 5,000 international citizens. Among them are leading representatives of creative industries and the arts, public administration, science and education, sport, entrepreneurship, media, digitalization and IT, and civic engagement – people who are already shaping the future of their countries and the world. Continuing the successful practice established at the World Youth Festival 2024, those invited include 1,000 teenagers aged 14 to 17 – 500 from Russia and 500 from abroad. The Children’s Program is organized by the Movement of the First.

The World Youth Festival took place from March 1 to 7, 2024, in Sirius, in accordance with a decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin, aimed at developing international youth cooperation. The WYF-2024 brought together 20,000 young leaders from 190 countries.

In line with instructions from Russia’s President on preserving and building on the legacy of the World Youth Festival, festival events are now held annually across Russia. The World Youth Festival Directorate continues its work to strengthen international youth cooperation and build a community of young people who care about the future of the world.