Hate calling restaurants to check wait times? Yelp is rolling out a new AI-powered tool to handle just that, along with other tools as the platform deepens its employment of agentic artificial intelligence.
“This release is another step forward as we transform Yelp with AI, with updates across every category on Yelp, from booking a table at a restaurant to hiring a pro for a home project,” Akhil Kuduvalli Ramesh, Yelp’s chief product officer, said in a statement.
Yelp expands its AI offerings
Just months after launching an updated AI assistant, Yelp Assistant, that can book reservations for you, Yelp is expanding its AI integrations with a new AI agent. Check for Me will call restaurants on your behalf to check wait times in real time and text you with updates within a few minutes. As personal and shopping assistants become more widely used, new reports show the hardships faced by both businesses and customers: Businesses must contend with an influx of calls and emails from bots, while human customers must compete with AI agents to make reservations.
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Yelp Assistant now works with OpenTable, allowing you access to thousands of restaurants across the US. You can simply ask the assistant for recommendations on “dog-friendly coffee shops” and booking help.
You can also use Yelp Waitlist to get in line before you arrive. After you join the line, Yelp Assistant will send you status updates, such as when your table becomes available.
Yelp Assistant gets personal
Yelp is further expanding its Assistant capabilities while also adding more personalization.
A new feature, Keep Me Posted, lets you tailor your reminders based on your personal schedule. With the feature, you can have Yelp Assistant send you weekend date night ideas every Thursday or dog-friendly hikes once a month. These personal AI agents that execute tasks on your behalf are becoming increasingly popular. Meta Muse and OpenAI Dots recently hit the market, and Google is continuously incorporating agentic AI into its booking and planning services.
Yelp Assistant’s personalization will also apply to conversations by referencing past chats and your Yelp review history. For instance, if you’ve recently chatted on Yelp for vegan restaurants near you, the Assistant will ask if you’re interested in more vegan options.
For further personalization, the app can now reference local weather forecasts when you make reservations, so you don’t book an outdoor patio on a night it’s supposed to pour. And a new feature, My Lists, lets you save, rank and promote your favorite local businesses, and then Yelp will give you more tailored recommendations based on your lists.
Yelp initially debuted its AI Assistant in 2024, but these new integrations and features show how Yelp is evolving as AI tools become more adept at actually doing things, not just telling you things.