Yelp will release several AI-powered updates on Tuesday, including a new AI assistant that can answer questions about restaurants, bars, local attractions, and retail stores. The company is also adding a new feature that allows users to scan physical menus to provide information about dishes. Additionally, the company is improving search with natural language and voice query support to highlight popular products on business pages such as auto stores, hair salons, clothing stores, and parks.
Last year, the company launched an AI-powered assistant that helps users connect to the right service by describing their problem. Yelp now uses similar technology to answer questions about other types of businesses, including restaurants, bars, local attractions, and retail stores. The assistant uses information from a company’s page, website, reviews, and photos to provide answers. For example, you can ask about the types of animals seen at the zoo.
Yelp displays pre-written questions on business pages based on frequently asked questions so you don’t have to type them yourself. The company says its service assistant will remember your preferences and provide recommendations tailored to your next project.
The company is also improving search by allowing users to type questions directly into the search box in everyday language. The app supports these conversational queries through voice search.
Historically, Yelp has highlighted popular food and drinks on restaurant and bar pages. The company plans to introduce popular desserts on restaurant pages in the future. Additionally, the company is expanding this functionality to more than 100 business categories. Users will be able to see the top services offered by that store, such as the salon’s popular haircuts and color treatments, in the “Most Mentioned” section of each page.
Yelp is adding another AI-powered feature that lets diners explore menu items. Using AI image recognition, users scan a physical menu with their phone’s camera and overlay bubbles appear on top of different dishes on the screen. Tap a bubble to see a photo of the dish and read customer comments about the dish.
With these new features, the company is making search more visual and conversational. With the rise of chat-style search tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity, established companies like Google are also adding similar features to Search and Maps to help discover new places.
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Earlier this year, the company previewed an AI-powered voice agent for restaurants and hospitality businesses. With new updates, these tools are now available to businesses. The company’s AI hosts can accept restaurant reservations, answer questions, process special requests, and modify reservations. AI receptionists for service companies can collect project details, help identify leads, and send call summaries to the company’s Yelp inbox. Other companies like Square and Kea also offer AI-powered voice solutions for restaurants and order management.
With this fall release, Yelp is also launching some additional features. An AI-generated video that edits users’ photos and narrates information about restaurants and bars. Enhanced video upload (from 10 seconds to 30 seconds). New visual overview of restaurants and bars with photos and videos. Grouped before and after photos for the hospitality industry. and a new section for planning future projects.
