Santa Claus's special line received more than 120,000 calls.

A telephone line with artificial intelligence playing the role of Santa Claus received more than 120 thousand calls from all over Russia in a week. According to the developers of the service, more than 50 thousand unique subscribers were able to reach the New Year's wizard. The neural network telephone line was launched in mid-December at the initiative of T-Bank.

The calls are answered by a virtual Santa Claus, an artificial intelligence trained on thousands of replicas of the most beloved Santa Claus by Russians from the main Soviet and Russian New Year films and cartoons. He recognizes emotions in the other person's voice, conducts a dialogue, is interested in children's hobbies, listens to poetry and accepts New Year's wishes. According to the organizers, the system is designed so that Santa Claus is "always waiting for a call": the line is never busy.

Anyone in the country can contact the New Year's character. The service will be operational until January 15, 2026. The cost of the call depends on the operator's tariff.

The mobile number of Santa Claus appeared on mailboxes in 12 cities of Russia, where the estates of the chief wizard are located. Santa Claus's assistants, snowflakes and magical animals, tell you more about the service in a number of Russian Post offices. They help the post office staff and give out souvenirs to visitors.

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