Yelp’s AI Now Handles Phone Reservations for You
▼ Summary
– Yelp is launching two AI tools called Host and Receptionist to handle calls, reservations, and bookings for restaurants and businesses.
– Yelp Host can manage reservations, answer customer questions, and send automated texts for waitlists or orders, starting at $149 per month.
– Yelp Receptionist will answer calls, vet leads, and schedule appointments, initially available to eligible businesses from $99 per month.
– These AI agents are pre-trained on Yelp’s data and can operate 24/7, part of Yelp’s broader fall release of AI features.
– The tools reflect a trend in the service industry where companies use AI to streamline customer management and support in-person services.
Yelp is rolling out two new AI-powered tools designed to manage phone calls and reservations for restaurants and other local businesses. These services, named Yelp Host and Yelp Receptionist, aim to provide continuous customer support, helping establishments handle inquiries and bookings even during busy periods or outside regular hours.
Yelp Host functions as an automated phone agent that interacts directly with customers. It can answer incoming calls, take new reservations, and adjust or cancel existing ones. The system also provides current wait times, responds to questions about amenities like vegan offerings or pet policies, and records special requests from callers. After a call, Host can text links to digital menus, add guests to waitlists, or assist with placing orders for pickup and delivery.
First introduced in a preview last April, Yelp Host is now available to restaurants starting at $149 per month, with a discounted rate of $99 monthly for current Yelp Guest Manager subscribers. Yelp has indicated that additional capabilities are in development, including a feature that will soon allow the AI to add customers directly to the Yelp Waitlist.
Simultaneously, Yelp Receptionist is being launched to manage general business calls. Like Host, it answers calls, fields customer questions, and gathers information to qualify leads, prepare quotes, and set appointments. Both AI tools come pre-trained using Yelp’s business database and are ready to operate immediately, offering 24/7 coverage or supplemental support as needed.
Initially, Yelp Receptionist will be offered to eligible businesses at a starting price of $99 per month, with plans to expand availability to a wider range of local companies in the near future.
These new voice AI products are part of a larger set of AI enhancements included in Yelp’s latest fall release. Other updates include expanding the availability of its AI chatbot assistant to all platforms and Canadian users, introducing an augmented reality feature that displays photos and reviews when a phone camera is aimed at a menu, and adding voice search so users can find local businesses using natural speech.
They join existing Yelp AI functions that automatically generate restaurant summaries from user content, condense customer reviews, and connect people with nearby service professionals. The introduction of Host and Receptionist reflects a wider industry movement where companies like Yelp and DoorDash deploy AI to manage routine tasks, freeing business owners and staff to concentrate on in-person service and primary operations.
Other tech firms, including Google, are developing comparable customer-facing AI that can call businesses, ask questions, and make reservations for users. This growing adoption suggests a future where AI systems could routinely interact with each other to complete tasks on behalf of businesses and consumers.
(Source: The Verge)
