Yelp is introducing an expanded version of its Yelp Assistant, an agentic chatbot that is able to answer questions, suggest places to visit, and complete tasks like booking a restaurant reservation.
Answers rely on hundreds of millions of Yelp reviews sourced from real people, which Yelp says allows the assistant to address "complex and highly specific requests." Yelp Assistant was previously available for hiring service professionals and getting answers to questions about businesses, but now it is available across all Yelp categories.
Users are able to ask specific questions when looking for a location, such as "birthday dinner spots with vegan options and heated outdoor seating," or "top-rated gyms with group classes and childcare."
With the AI Assistant, users can start out by asking questions to find a suitable location, and then make reservations, book appointments, place delivery orders, or get quotes in the same conversation. Yelp is adding new integrated services including Vagaro, Zocdoc, and Calendly.
There is a new AI-powered personalization model for the Yelp home feed on the iPhone and iPad, and it is able to surface more relevant content and improved recommendations.
Yelp is also updating its AI Menu Vision feature with support for photo overlays so users can see what popular dishes, drinks, and desserts look like.
The Yelp Assistant is rolling out today and it is accessible through a new Assistant tab in the Yelp app.
