Yelp! Inc.
04/30/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/30/2024 05:14
Yelp Launches New AI Assistant to Connect Consumers with Service Pros and More
In this Spring Release we're introducing:
- Yelp Assistant, a new conversational AI feature that intelligently guides you through the process of finding the right pro for the job, transforming how you discover, connect with and hire service professionals.
- Yelp Fusion AI API, enabling third-party partners to integrate Yelp's trusted content into their products to create natural language search experiences.
- Yelp Guest Manager enhancements that improve and streamline front-of-house operations, Waitlist and Kiosk updates to help guests get seated faster and more efficiently.
As Yelp approaches 20 years of connecting you with great local businesses, we're continuously innovating to enrich your experience, whether you're planning your next home project or looking for the perfect dining spot. What began as a review site that millions of people relied on for finding great restaurants and other local experiences, has evolved into a powerful platform that helps you easily navigate the often complex task of finding and hiring service professionals. Today, many of our users rely on Yelp to find the right service pro for their needs - in the first quarter of 2024, consumer interest in home services businesses was up nearly 30% compared to Q1 2019. And now we're leveraging AI to make that process even easier.
After recently announcing a series of new discovery, contribution, services and AI-powered features earlier this year, today we're unveiling our Spring Product Release with more than 15 new features and updates that will transform the Yelp experience. Our new AI-powered Yelp Assistant will revolutionize how you discover and connect with service pros. For partners, the new Yelp Fusion AI API will allow third-party platforms to create natural language search experiences powered by Yelp content. For restaurants, enhancements to Yelp Guest Manager will help them seat more diners by boosting front of house efficiency; and more.
Yelp Assistant transforms how you discover and hire services professionals with conversational AI
Whether you're in need of quotes to repair your roof, looking to get your car detailed, or want to change up your hairstyle, Yelp Assistant, a new conversational AI feature, reinvents how you connect with and hire service professionals.
Powered by large language models (LLMs), Yelp Assistant intelligently guides you through the process of finding the right pro for the job. It contextually understands your project or problem, engages in a professional-like dialogue with follow up questions, and then matches you with businesses that are qualified to help with your project. Unlike any other solution available today, Yelp Assistant is able to efficiently translate your problem and identify the right provider for your needs because the LLM is trained on Yelp's vast and reliable dataset, including Request a Quote, business information, and more, in addition to LLMs from OpenAI. With its effective and precise matching capabilities, Yelp Assistant is delivering highly relevant, detailed leads to businesses, enabling them to more efficiently assess the project and get hired.
Yelp Assistant is a new conversational AI feature that redefines the way consumers connect with businesses across thousands of service categories within home, local, auto, beauty, and more.Yelp Assistant not only helps you connect with pros who are suited for your project, but it also alleviates the guesswork on the type of specialists you may need, making hiring the right pros straightforward and stress-free. Once you let Yelp Assistant know what project or issue you're looking to solve, it quickly springs into action with a personalized conversation to collect the necessary details a pro would need to evaluate your project. You have the option to either craft your own replies, choose from a selection of convenient one-click responses, or ask it a question to help further refine your response. After you review and approve the final project request, Yelp Assistant then creates and sends detailed project submissions to relevant service providers on your behalf, enabling businesses to better respond with accurate pricing and availability.
Yelp Assistant can connect you with businesses across thousands of categories within home, local, auto, beauty, pet, real estate, professional, event planning, financial services, and more. It's currently available on iOS from the 'Projects' tab and will roll out to Android later this summer.
In addition to Yelp Assistant, today we're introducing other updates to help you connect with service pros. Yelp's new Project Ideas, accessible through the 'Projects' tab, provide recommendations to help inspire your next home upgrade, alleviate decision paralysis, and make it easy to request quotes from service pros in your area. This summer, we'll refine Project Ideas with predictive analysis to provide you with more personalized Project Ideas, recommendations and checklists. Plus, service pros will find business owner inbox enhancements that help them quickly respond to and secure jobs. New Saved Replies, currently available on iOS, allow business owners to effortlessly create and save response templates for common questions. They'll also be able to stay more organized with updates that distinguish new leads from previously contacted messages, and new city location tags that easily identify the service area.
Project Ideas help inspire your next endeavor, and new inbox enhancements help business owners quickly respond to and secure jobs.Yelp Fusion AI API brings natural language search to third-party partners
Third-party partners can now integrate Yelp's trusted content into their products to create conversational AI experiences with the new Yelp Fusion AI API. For years, Yelp Fusion has enabled consumers to access Yelp's high quality information on local businesses in other places across the web, on mobile and in cars and homes. Our new LLM-powered partner solution, Yelp Fusion AI API, enables innovative user experiences using natural language search, even if partners have no previous AI products or experiences.
Utilizing Yelp's reliable local data and content - including business information, reviews and photos - the Yelp Fusion AI API enhances discovery on third-party platforms by enabling conversational queries like, "Find a vegan brunch place with a patio that's open this Sunday at 10:00 a.m.," or, "Recommend a good gym in Miami that has a swimming pool." The AI will provide responses that are contextual to the conversation, sharing relevant businesses with detailed information, including Yelp ratings, review highlights, photos, business summaries, and more.
This new solution not only benefits partners by enabling conversational engagement using Yelp content, but it also reduces their need to acquire and manage data, ultimately making it easier and more efficient for their users to find great local businesses. The Yelp Fusion AI API represents a significant advancement in our mission to connect people with great local businesses, by opening new possibilities for these connections to be made seamlessly both on and off of Yelp.
The Yelp Fusion AI API is currently available for partners to integrate into their platform, and non-partners can test out the AI API with 30-day access or contact us to learn more. Today, the Yelp Fusion AI API supports single-turn questions and responses, with multi-turn conversations coming later this year.
The Yelp Fusion AI API helps partners integrate natural language search experiences into their own platforms.Enhancing the Restaurant Experience with Yelp Guest Manager
Yelp Guest Manager, our comprehensive front-of-house solution, givesmore than 11,000 restaurantsaccess to the largest diner network.* Now, with new features that streamline front-of-house operations, enhance analytics for restaurant owners, and improve Yelp Waitlist and Kiosk, restaurants can boost efficiency, seat more diners, and improve guest experiences.
Revamped Yelp Guest Manager provides hosts with smarter insights
We're introducing a new suite of features for Yelp Guest Managerthat provide hosts with a deeper understanding of their guests' needs, enabling more effective staff utilization, better preparedness for upcoming shifts, and streamlined operations. Cover Flow makes it even easier to plan for and manage the dinner rush by helping hosts better optimize server sections and table assignments, and monitor table status in real time. Party Highlights empower staff to create more personalized and attentive guest experiences, while Shift Notes streamline front of house communication by centralizing information for staff. Plus, credit card holds for in-house reservations just got easier with automated SMS confirmations sent to guests, eliminating the need for hosts to manually enter credit card information.
New analytics drive operational efficiency for restaurant owners
It's not just hosts getting a revamped Yelp Guest Manager experience, business owners will also find new table usage analytics, user permissions functionality, online reservation management features, and traffic analytics in their Yelp business owner account. The new analytics dashboard displays a holistic view of table states and usage, including seat delay and average table turn time, enabling restaurant owners to better find efficiencies and increase diners seated. New user permissions, rolling out in the coming weeks, provide restaurant owners and general managers with more precise control over staff access to Yelp Guest Manager features, getting the right tools into the right hands. With online reservation management, restaurants can now create reservations and assign tables without having to use the host app. These new updates are available in the Yelp Guest Manager business owner accounts on desktop.And in the coming months,restaurant owners will have access to new traffic attribution analytics that detail valuable cover and booking trends.
New Waitlist updates improve wait time accuracy and diner communication
Yelp Waitlist has made it easier than ever for diners to join the waitlist at their favorite restaurants from anywhere, while freeing up host time to focus on other important front-of-house operations. Wait time accuracy continues to improve with AI through our use of neural networksto help diners better plan their restaurant outings. In addition to more accurate wait times, new text message place-in-line updates, such as if the line is moving faster or slower than anticipated, mean there's no need for diners to keep an eye on the app or ask when they'll be seated. Soon, diners will also receive texts to check out popular dishes before they're seated. Hosts can automate updates or send them manually, simplifying diner communication and helping them seat guests faster, reducing table turn times.
Redesigned Yelp Kiosk enhances the diner check in experience
Yelp Kioskjust got a new look. This newly redesigned experience makes it easier to join the waitlist and check yourself in when you're at the restaurant, streamlining the process for diners while allowing the host to manage other front-of-house operations.
Our mission to connect people with great local businesses has never been more relevant. The introduction of Yelp Assistant and the enhancements across our platform are testaments to our ongoing commitment to innovation and delighting our users. By continually evolving and adapting to the needs of our community, Yelp is setting the stage for a future where every interaction is smarter, more intuitive, and tailored to meet the dynamic needs of consumers and businesses. Keep an eye out for even more ways we're leveraging AI and new engaging content, like AI stitched videos using real photos, videos, and information from Yelp, to help you find the right business for your needs. Here's to the next 20 years of innovation, connection, and community on Yelp.
*Comscore Media Metrix®, based on Yelp and Reserve with Google collective monthly average number of visitors in the U.S. 2022 when compared to other Reserve with Google integrations.
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