Yelp is unveiling new AI capabilities to empower better business discovery for its users. The review site announced over 20 new features in its Winter Product Release, with a heavy emphasis on AI aimed at connecting people with their perfect local spot.
The headline updates are Yelp's new AI-powered visual home feed and business summaries. The visual home feed surfaces relevant photos, videos, and collections in users' communities to aid discovery. It taps AI to recommend neighborhood gems users may have otherwise missed.
Meanwhile, the AI-powered business summaries provide helpful at-a-glance snapshots of restaurants, food, and nightlife establishments by analyzing recent reviews. These summaries highlight key details like atmosphere, service quality, amenities, value, and popular menu items. The goal is to quickly convey what makes a business unique to match consumers with options likely to delight.
Yelp is among the first platforms using generative AI in this way to upgrade the business recommendation experience. The summaries currently appear on iOS, with plans to launch on Android and the web later this year.
Craig Saldanha, Yelp's Chief Product Officer, emphasizes the role of AI in unlocking more value for business owners and enhancing the platform's utility for consumers.
Rolling out features that make life easier, delight our users and leverage advanced technology allow us to deliver a seamless consumer experience and more effectively match businesses with valuable leads.
The AI upgrades complement other discovery-enhancing features in Yelp's winter release like reviewer Recognitions and an improved visual search. As consumer expectations advance, the launches showcase Yelp's ambition to continuously evolve its AI capabilities to connect people with the local businesses they’ll love.