Yandex releases Sona technical report: Single generative recommendation model replaces entire recommendation cascade

Yandex released the Sona technical report, using a single generative model to replace the candidate generation, pre-ranking, and ranking stages in the recommendation cascade. In a 7-day online A/B test on smart speakers, Sona replaced more than 15 candidate generators with one transformer, Active Users increased by 4.53% (2.35 times the gain of the previous generation Argus), total listening time increased by 6.30%, and likes increased by 11.42%.