Yelp is making its chatbot more useful

Yelp is giving its chatbot assistant a major upgrade, turning the platform into something closer to a digital concierge with a host of new features designed to “get things done.” Move, one of numerous Focused on artificial intelligence Updates In recent months, it’s part of a broader industry push to make AI more relevant and practically useful for consumers while turning huge troves of user-generated data into a competitive advantage.

In a press release, Yelp says the Yelp Assistant chatbot will be at the “center of the app experience,” where it can answer questions, make recommendations, and even handle reservations in a single conversation. The bot will be available through a new “Assistant” tab that covers every category on Yelp, a major expansion from Debuts 2024 As a tool for recruiting service professionals.

Yelp is also expanding the reach of the Assistant with a range of app integrations that allow users to order takeout or delivery through DoorDash, Grubhub and other delivery services, request quotes from industry professionals such as car and pet care, and book appointments with beauty, wellness, fitness and healthcare providers through Vagaro and Zocdoc. Yelp waitlisting will be supported “soon,” as will the Calendly integration for appointment scheduling.

Craig Saldanha, Yelp’s chief product officer, called the update “the company’s most significant AI product evolution to date,” adding that it’s “just the beginning of a more conversational, personal, and business-oriented Yelp experience.”