Yelp today announced a new AI-powered chatbot for consumers to help them connect with businesses relevant to their jobs. The company joins a long list of organizations that are turning to AI chatbots as a supporting medium.
The company is rolling out its AI assistant in the Projects tab of its iOS app, with plans to expand to Android later this year. Yelp says the chatbot uses OpenAI's Large-Scale Language Model (LLM) and proprietary data to ask users questions about their problems and connect them with experts related to the job.
Rather than using traditional search boxes to find experts for different types of problems, you can describe your problem directly in the chat interface.
The bot will ask follow-up questions to collect detailed information along with your zip code to create the project. Once the bot sends the information to the expert, you will be able to see messages from the expert regarding your project. You can reply to these conversations with custom replies or use the app's quick reply feature.
Image credit: Yelp
The company is also introducing a new “Project Ideas” section to encourage people to start new projects that might search for their services on Yelp. Current suggestions include home maintenance, installing new lighting in your home, upgrading your outdoor space, and more. Later in the summer, the company plans to further personalize this feature with recommendations and checklists.
“AI allows us to transform the way people discover and connect with local businesses,” Craig Saldaña, Yelp's chief product officer, said in a statement.
“Yelp Assistant is a game-changer for hiring service providers, reducing the friction for consumers to find the right professional for their needs, while also ensuring that professionals are rated and work well. ”, he added.
The company isn't looking to leverage its AI chatbot experience for restaurant discovery any time soon.
“We are looking at how this type of natural language search will be used more frequently on our platform in the future to assess how best to meet the needs of this consumer, such as searching for restaurants and services. “We're working to understand what's going on,” said Akhil Kuduvari Ramesh, senior vice president of products. he told TechCrunch in an email at the company.
But the company said later this year it plans to introduce videos that use AI to stitch together photos, videos and details posted by users.
Yelp Fusion AI
In addition to making the bot available to consumers, the company is also launching an API that will allow other sites to include AI-powered bots for business discovery. Users who visit this third-party website can ask the chatbot for suggestions such as “Vegan brunch place opening this Saturday at 9am” or “Suggest a good workout studio in Miami with a swimming pool.” I can.
Yelp says the bot will return relevant suggestions that include information such as Yelp ratings, pricing details, review highlights, photos, and an AI-powered business overview.
Image credit: Yelp
Businesses have 30 days of access to test the new Fusion API. Currently, the API supports single-turn queries and responses, but multi-turn chat support is planned for later this year.
Yelp already offered Fusion APIs for companies like Amazon, Apple, Ford, and Mailchimp to integrate Yelp content into their products. The new release brings a conversational chatbot experience.
New tools for restaurants to manage guests
Yelp is also revamping the guest manager experience for the more than 11,000 restaurants on its network. The new Guest Manager design allows restaurant operators to see cover flow to increase staff utilization, see real-time table status, and add notes for shift managers.
Yelp is rolling out waitlist updates for customers, including more accurate wait times, and text message updates about waitlist status. The company will soon send users a text message with recommended dishes before they sit down.
Image credit: Yelp
The company is also redesigning Yelp Kiosks to make it easier for users to join waitlists and check in to restaurants.
In 2023, Yelp posted net revenue of $1.34 billion, a 12% year-over-year growth. In 2022, he saw a decrease of $3 million, but the company recorded his profit of $99 million, resulting in a 173% increase in net income. Yelp stock is up more than 35% year-over-year, but is down about 12% since the beginning of the year.