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Yelp’s AI-powered solutions promise to answer calls, make reservations and manage reservations for “understaffed” restaurants. Yelp Host and Yelp Receptionist are part of a broader push from the company and similar platforms that are embracing artificial intelligence to simplify “around the clock” customer management.
Yelp said a host is an artificial intelligence-powered agent who can answer guests’ calls and manage tables. The AI can make reservations over the phone, modify or cancel reservations, provide updated wait times, and even pick up special requests, as well as answer questions about the restaurant, such as whether or not it has vegetarian options or welcomes dogs. They’ll also be able to send guests links to menus, join waitlists, or place orders for pickup or delivery with an automated follow-up text.
Cry first Previewed Host Tool in April. It will be available to restaurants starting at $149 per month, or $99 per month for Yelp Guest Manager customers. There are new features on the way, too, and the company said Host will be able to add diners directly to the Yelp waitlist “in the coming weeks.”
Yelp is also launching Yelp Receptionist this week, an AI-powered agent that it says will handle incoming calls for businesses. Similar to Host, Yelp said the tool will answer calls, answer customer questions, collect details needed to screen leads, provide quotes, and schedule appointments. Both will come pre-trained on Yelp’s business data and will be ready to “work out of the box to answer calls 24/7, or just when additional coverage is needed.”
The receptionist will only be available to “eligible” businesses to start with, starting at $99 per month, but Yelp said it “will be widely available to local businesses across categories in the coming months.”
Voice AI agents like Host and Receptionist are part of a broader trend in the service and hospitality industry like Yelp and platforms like DoorDash Leveraging technology as a way to help businesses focus on personal interactions and core services.
Companies like Google It is also working on similar products, but for customers, allowing AI tools to contact businesses, ask questions and make bookings on behalf of users. Maybe it’s time to call AI AI.