Digital Avrora Replaces Robot Maksim on Russian Railways
An AI voice assistant developed for Russian Railways is taking over routine customer calls, aiming to cut wait times and free up human operators for complex issues.
TransTeleKom developed a voice model called Avrora for the Customer Support Center of Russian Railways (RZD). Built on artificial intelligence, the system is designed to handle passenger inquiries around the clock.
The AI assistant has begun processing passenger requests, replacing the long-running robot Maksim. Developers focused heavily on speech quality. Recordings by professional voice actors were manually refined, with intonations and stress patterns adjusted to ensure natural delivery and accurate pronunciation of technical terms, station names, and routes.
Operator Resources Freed Up
Avrora now interprets customer requests more accurately and provides more relevant answers. It helps passengers find train schedules and tickets at any time of day, explains rules for purchasing, returning, and reissuing tickets, and provides information about RZD services, onboard amenities, promotions, fares, and loyalty programs. The system also advises customers traveling with children, animals, or baggage. For passengers with limited mobility, the AI assistant outlines available support options in detail.
By shifting routine queries to Avrora, human operators can focus on unusual or complex cases. According to the company, call wait times do not exceed 20 seconds. The digital assistant continues to improve, training on real customer dialogues.
More than half of all inquiries handled by the RZD Customer Support Center are now processed with the help of AI, and 100 percent of calls are analyzed by artificial intelligence in real time.
