← Resume and other versions
Vukolov
RUEN

Content · Voice · AI

IvanVukolov

I lead content teams for voice and AI products.

I’m responsible for the team, how we work and the quality of our content. I work closely with product, design and ML.

Discuss a role or projectDownload resumePDF · 2 pages
Ivan Vukolov
Ivan Vukolov / Content leader

I want editors to understand the product and have a say in how it works.

At MTS, I lead a content team working on VoiceTech and Trust & Safety services.

Previously — Marusya, VK’s voice assistant.

Explore the case studies

01 / Selected work

Content as part of the product.

Three leadership challenges at MTS and VK.

01

MTS / Team and processes

Built a content team from scratch.

I hired editors to match each product’s needs. Product teams gained a clear process from brief to approved copy.

Read moreShow less

The situation

MTS’s voice products needed copy for websites, marketing, bots, SMS and push notifications. There was no content team in the division. I proposed taking responsibility for organizing the work.

My decisions

I hired editors for the technical or marketing needs of each product. With product teams, I agreed on priorities and responsibilities, and introduced workload planning. When the team became smaller, I reassigned product areas and revised our working agreements.

What changed

Editors developed product knowledge and took copy through product, design and legal approval. Product teams knew who to approach and how the process worked.

Team projects

The team now works on VoiceTech and the Trust & Safety service Zashchitnik. I also supervised an editor’s work on an updated, youth-oriented brand voice for QIQ. QIQ is an MTS mobile service managed through an AI chat.

02

MTS Secretary / Call-answering assistant

The content team took ownership of dialogue.

I persuaded leadership to put the content team in charge of dialogue. We redesigned the flows with product and ML; average dialogue depth increased.

1.3 → 4.5Average scenario steps per callHow far the conversation progresses through the dialogue flow.
Read moreShow less

The situation

MTS Secretary answers calls on a user’s behalf. Fixing individual responses wasn’t enough; the conversation logic also needed to change.

My decisions

Research and call drop-off data guided the work. I proposed a brief “Hello” instead of a long introduction. Together with an editor, the product manager and the ML team, we refined responses and how the assistant chose a path based on the caller’s meaning. I initially designed, built and approved changes myself. Once the process was in place, I gave an editor responsibility for the work; QA teams joined the testing.

What changed

The content team analyzed conversations, designed dialogue flows, and built and tested scenarios. Developers reviewed the changes before release. Calls progressed further through the scenario on average, giving callers more opportunity to explain why they called.

03

VK / Marusya / Voice assistant

Built a content workflow with ML.

I completed a pilot myself, then organized the editors’ work. The team delivered the dataset on time and met the ML team’s quality expectations.

Read moreShow less

The situation

Marusya is VK’s voice assistant. For its conversation feature, the team was preparing a move to replies generated by a large language model (LLM). We needed reference dialogues in natural Russian, with replies short enough to follow by ear.

My decisions

I completed the pilot work myself to estimate the effort and understand what the editors would need. I then allocated work and set up quality review. With ML, we agreed on the criteria, volume and format of the dialogues.

What changed

The dialogues met the ML team’s quality expectations. The editors gained experience with a new type of work, and we continued collaborating with ML on other projects.

MTS Secretary / Voice

Helped MTS Secretary sound natural.

For MTS Secretary’s new voice, we wanted natural speech: pauses, hesitations and everyday phrasing. I made the case for that direction with leadership and aligned the brief with ML requirements.

I prepared scripts, briefed the voice actors, listened to takes and coached their delivery. Everyday situations helped: imagine getting to work and telling colleagues what happened on the way.

almost58hours of recorded speech

From the second recording cycle, dedicated to creating a new voice from scratch.

Talk

How content teams shape a voice product.

I share how our team redesigned dialogue for MTS Secretary, a call-answering assistant, and worked on its conversational voice. Includes a Q&A on dialogue design and writing for speech.

Talk and Q&A · In Russian

Watch on YouTube

02 / Experience

From media to voice products.

At VK, I progressed from editor to head of content for Marusya. Before voice products, I worked in news, video and special projects.

  1. MTS

    Aug 2024 — Present

    Head of Content, Voice Products

    The team currently works on VoiceTech, MTS’s voice and AI services, and Zashchitnik, a spam and fraud-call protection service within Trust & Safety.

  2. VK · Marusya

    Jan 2023 — Aug 2024

    Head of Content, Marusya

    Led product content for VK’s voice assistant and the team’s joint projects with ML.

    Mar 2021 — Dec 2022

    Content Editor, mail.ru and Marusya

    Worked on responses, dialogue flows, the knowledge base and editorial guidelines for the voice assistant.

  3. TASS

    Jan 2019 — Mar 2021

    Senior Editor, Video

    Led a team of editors, scriptwriters, designers and video editors.

  4. RBC

    Mar 2018 — Dec 2018

    Video Producer

    Prepared scripts and organized shoots and broadcasts.

  5. RTVI

    Aug 2017 — Mar 2018

    Editor

    Worked on news and special projects.

Download resumePDF · English

03 / Consulting

Where I can help.

We can look at a team process or a specific challenge in your work as an editor.

01

Work is piling up.

We’ll review workload, priorities and approvals, then outline process changes and clearer responsibilities for content and product teams.

02

You’re unsure where AI fits.

We’ll identify tasks AI can handle, where editorial judgment is needed and how to check the results. Then we’ll outline a workflow for your needs.

03

The bot frustrates users.

We’ll review the dialogue flow and responses, prioritize fixes and define how to assess them. We can also ask whether a bot is the right approach for the task.

A single consultation, a focused audit, several sessions or ongoing team support — depending on the task.

Ask about a consultation

04 / Get in touch

Let’s talk about work. Or just say hello.

A leadership role, consulting or a voice product — tell me what you have in mind.

Message on Telegram
Send an email