Yelp Introduces AI-Powered Call Answering Features

Yelp has unveiled new AI-powered call answering features for restaurants and services as part of its Spring Product Release. The company aims to ensure that "businesses never have to miss a call again" with this innovative service, currently under development.

Harnessing AI to Unlock Potential

"In this next step of our product transformation, we’re continuing to harness AI to unlock the potential of Yelp’s rich data in ways that build trust and simplify decision-making — whether users are hiring a pro or booking a reservation," said Craig Saldanha, Yelp’s chief product officer, in a statement. "By grounding our AI in real consumer behavior and business data, we’re creating intuitive, transparent features that improve the experience for everyone on Yelp."

Key Features of the AI-Powered System

The AI-powered system will be fully integrated into Yelp’s platform, offering customizable features, general question-answering capabilities, spam filtering, call transfer, and message capture. For restaurants, it will enable reservations, waitlist management, and promotion of deals like happy hours. This system will be part of Yelp Guest Manager, which is also receiving updates to streamline operations and introduce a new Guest Experience Survey.

Enhanced User Experience

Users calling services will be able to provide project details, receive answers to follow-up questions, and get a call back from the company. For instance, if a person has a car issue, they can provide information to the AI system and receive potential solutions. Every business will have the ability to customize the AI service’s greetings, choose when a call should be forwarded, and determine follow-up questions.