As Yelp tries to remind users that it's more than just a place to find a new restaurant to try, is launching Yelp Assistantan ai chatbot that “contextually” understands what users are looking for and can connect them with service professionals in their area.
If you want to replace your bathtub, the chatbot will ask you questions like what type of bathtub you want and what features you're interested in, then suggest a couple of nearby bathtub installers. People have the option of writing their own messages to select businesses or having Yelp Assistant make one for them. After reviewing the final project request (generated based on what you requested in your chat session), the bot can send it to service providers on your behalf, which, according to Yelp, can result in better price quotes and more precise.
Yelp says the chatbot also works with other services such as massage therapists, pet sitting, real estate or financial services. Yelp Assistant, powered by OpenAI's large language models, is now available in iOS versions of its mobile app and will launch on Android this summer.
Yelp has already added other generative ai features, such as the ai-powered restaurant and nightlife business review summaries it launched last year. It also uses ai to display more content and photos in the app's home feed.
In addition to Yelp Assistant, the company is also updating its Yelp Fusion ai API, an API that connects Yelp data to third-party platforms. While it used to connect reviews and user data, the Yelp Fusion API allows partner businesses to integrate natural language search into the Yelp database. Currently, it only supports single question-and-answer conversations, but Yelp says a longer conversation thread will be available later this year.
ai search platform Perplexity added Yelp content to its search results via the Yelp Fusion API. The updated Yelp Fusion API is now available to Yelp members, while non-members can try the service for 30 days.
