As Yelp tries to remind users it’s more than just a place to find a new restaurant to try, it’s launching the Yelp Assistant, an AI chatbot that “contextually” understands what users are looking for and can match them with service professionals in their area. If you want to replace your bathtub, the chatbot will ask questions like what type of bathtub you want and which features you’re interested in, then suggest a couple of nearby bathtub installers.
Yelp Assistant, powered by large language models from OpenAI, is available now in the iOS versions of its mobile app and will roll out on Android this summer. Yelp has added other generative AI features already, like the AI-powered review summaries of restaurants and nightlife businesses that it launched last year. It’s also used AI to surface more content and photos on the app’s home feed.