Yelp Launches Yelp Assistant
Yelp has launched its Spring Product Release with more than 15 updates and features to help consumers and businesses connect.
The updates include the new Yelp Assistant, a conversational artificial intelligence feature for consumers to find and hire service professionals; the new Yelp Fusion AI API, which brings Yelp content to third-party platforms via natural language search, as well as a revamped Yelp Guest Manager that helps restaurants improve efficiency, seat more diners, and enhance guest experiences.
"AI enables us to transform the way people discover and connect with local businesses," said Craig Saldanha, Yelp's chief product officer, in a statement. "Yelp Assistant is a game-changer for hiring service providers, alleviating friction for consumers in finding the right pro for their needs, while providing pros with helpful information to evaluate and win jobs. Our Spring Release demonstrates our accelerated pace of product innovation as we continue to meet and anticipate the evolving needs of our users and establish Yelp as the go-to platform for home services."
Powered by large language models (LLMs), Yelp Assistant understands users' issue and engages with them in a dialogue to collect necessary information and match them with businesses to help with the project. Yelp Assistant is powered by Yelp's dataset, including Request a Quote, business information, and more, in addition to LLMs from OpenAI. Yelp Assistant also delivers highly relevant, detailed leads to businesses, enabling them to assess the project, respond with pricing and availability, and get hired.
Yelp Assistant is currently accessible on the Yelp iOS app through the Projects tab, and can connect consumers with businesses across thousands of services categories within home, local, auto, beauty, pet, real estate, professional, event planning, financial, and more.
Yelp Fusion AI API, a new LLM-powered partner solution, will bring Yelp content to third-party platforms through natural language search, allowing conversational queries, such as finding a brunch spot or a gym with specific amenities. Yelp Fusion AI API helps provide contextually relevant responses to their users, allowing seamless connections with local businesses both on and off the Yelp platform.
Yelp Guest Manager, a comprehensive restaurant front-of-house solution, offers more than 11,000 restaurants a suite of tools that provide hosts with a deeper understanding of their guest' needs, enabling more effective staff utilization, better preparedness for upcoming shifts, and streamlined operations. New business owner account updates include enhanced analytics with crucial data on table usage, seat delays, average turn times, and user permissions functionalities, more online reservation management features, and enhanced traffic analytics.
For the diner experience, Yelp Guest Manager continues to improve Yelp Waitlist through neural networks, in addition to providing consumers with new place-in-line text message updates. A redesigned Yelp Kiosk now supports diner self-check-in, freeing hosts to manage other front-of-house operations.