Yelp Adds AI Calls to Check Restaurant Wait Times

Yelp is adding an AI voice agent that can call restaurants to check wait times. The feature, called Check for Me, will appear on restaurant pages in the app. Users can enter their party size and phone number; the agent then calls the restaurant and texts back the wait-time information so they can decide whether to go.

The update also expands Yelp’s AI assistant for finding restaurants and services. With an OpenTable integration, users can book a restaurant without leaving Yelp. The assistant can remember preferences mentioned in earlier chats, and users can access chat history from the past 30 days. Full history is coming soon. Users can also ask the chatbot to set reminders, such as sending weekend activity suggestions every Friday.

Yelp is introducing two lists, “Been Here” and “Want to Go,” which users can filter by location, category and cuisine, reorder, annotate and share. Next month, Yelp plans to begin showing weekly recommendations based on saved items and rankings. A redesigned lists tab and a map view are planned for later in the year.

For businesses, Yelp is releasing Smart Lead Reply, a paid product that can respond to customers and qualify leads. Business owners can set how the agent handles conversations. The service costs $30 per month.