Yelp Updates AI Assistant, Repositions Itself as an “Answer and Action” Platform
In Focus
- The AI assistant allows users to ask questions and book restaurants
- Yelp’s AI-powered integrates with multiple third-party service providers
- The tool directs users to service apps or pages
Yelp has updated its AI assistant to enable users to ask questions, make restaurant reservations, book service professionals, and make food delivery orders. The company launched the AI booking assistant in 2024 to enable users to find services based on their platform. With the latest update, Yelp is pairing user data with the AI assistant to enable users to perform more tasks.
What Services Can Yelp AI Assistant Provide?
Yelp’s AI assistant is located in a new tab within the app. The tab appears at the center of the bottom navigation bar to facilitate faster access. Tapping the tab allows users to select specific pages for a service or restaurant, or ask questions about the business.
According to Yelp, responses are based on details that businesses provide on the platform, user reviews, and the content available on their websites. This reduces chances of the AI assistant getting the answers wrong.
Yelp has integrated its platform with third-party providers to complete actions such as booking appointments or placing orders. The platform also integrates with Calendly to support other businesses that allow users to book appointments.
Yelp’s conversational AI booking assistant allows users to:
- Order food through Grubhub and Doordash
- Book doctor’s appointments via ZocDoc
- Schedule beauty or fitness sessions through Vagaro
- Book car repairs via Repairpal
As more companies turn to AI assistants to engage users, Yelp will be competing with leading AI players like OpenAI and Perplexity. The two AI companies have already introduced chat-style search tools. For instance, OpenAI added an agentic shopping system called Instant Checkout on its chatbot, ChatGPT last year.
AI Assistant Directs Users to Service Providers’ Apps
Once a user selects the action they wish to take, the upgraded Yelp AI assistant directs them to the service provider’s page or app. A demo by the company showed that users can search for hiking places and find takeout places along the route. Additionally, users can search for restaurant recommendations and explore options such as booking a table and check out.
“We would really like consumers to re-conceive Yelp as a place where they can ask questions and get answers, not just that, but also complete the action. That’s Yelp re-conceiving from a review platform to an answers and action platform. Some of the investments we’re making will be in that lane,” Yelp’s SVP of Product, Akhil Kuduvalli Ramesh noted as cited by TechCrunch.
Yelp updated its AI assistant months after it added menu scanning capabilities to the tool. Other features induced AI generated videos compiling user photos and restaurant information.
Yelp’s AI Tool to Work on Android and iOS
Yelp’s AI assistant allows users to search the media gallery of businesses using natural language. Business owners can use Yelp’s AI tagging and grouping feature to showcase before and after images in their media gallery. Yelp said the new AI feature will be accessible on both iOS and Android upon launch. The tool will support a range of business pages, including retail shops, restaurants, and attractions. The review platform plans to introduce a desktop version later this year.
