The Moscow Region government has launched a new bot called ”Digital Services MO” inside Max messenger, consolidating over 100 regional government services, info sites, and official chatbots into one place. Users can access these resources without digging through browsers or multiple apps.
The bot organizes services into clear categories: healthcare, education, government services, sports, culture, and more. Instead of locking users inside Max, the bot takes them directly to the relevant website or official chat with a couple of taps. Nadezhda Kurtyanik, Minister of State Administration, IT, and Communications for the Moscow Region, says this drastically cuts the steps needed to reach essential services.
Alongside government services, the catalog includes official channels for the Moscow Region governor’s office, regional ministries, and municipal leaders. This setup isn’t unique in Russia-many authorities use messaging apps as a storefront while keeping services on separate portals. Here, Max serves as both a navigation and subscription hub for official info streams.
Russia’s Max messenger, developed by VK (formerly Mail.ru Group), is competing with giants like Telegram and WhatsApp by integrating local government offerings and services to boost user engagement. Similar to Apple and Google’s digital wallet and assistant efforts, this regional initiative bundles public services in a single interface, though most functions still redirect to external sites rather than completing tasks natively inside the app.
Watching how well this experiment scales could reveal whether regional governments worldwide can leverage messaging platforms to streamline access to public services-bypassing traditional web hurdles while avoiding complex app development. The next step may be integrating more interactive, in-app service fulfillment rather than just linking out.