Yelp Adds an AI Voice Agent That Calls Restaurants to Check Wait Times
The update also brings OpenTable booking to Yelp's assistant and a $30 a month AI reply tool for business owners.
Yelp announced a set of AI updates on October 20, according to TechCrunch. A feature called Check for Me lets a diner have an AI voice agent call a restaurant and ask about the wait. The user enters a party size and phone number on the restaurant's page in the Yelp app, and the results come back by text.
Yelp's assistant also gets OpenTable booking inside the app, memory of preferences from earlier chats (30 days of history now, full history promised soon), and custom reminders. New Been Here and Want to Go lists are launching, with weekly personalized picks starting in November.
On the business side, TechCrunch says Yelp's Smart Lead Reply costs $30 a month. It answers customers and qualifies leads, and owners can set how the agent handles a conversation. TechCrunch notes that a customer's agent may end up talking to a restaurant's agent, and that exchange could break down. It gave no launch date, regions or pricing for Check for Me.
If you run a restaurant or service business, expect calls and messages from AI agents, not only people. Make sure your phone greeting, hours and wait-time answers are clear, and test Yelp's reply tool on a small scale before trusting it with every lead.
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