Yelp has introduced AI-driven tools aimed at assisting restaurants facing staffing challenges. The company’s offerings, Yelp Host and Yelp Receptionist, are designed to enhance customer service operations by managing tasks such as answering calls, reservations, and bookings continuously.
The Yelp Host is an AI agent that can field calls from customers, manage dining tables, and handle reservations. It is capable of modifying or canceling bookings, providing current wait times, and addressing queries about the restaurant, including dietary options and pet policies. Additionally, it can send customers automated follow-up texts with links to menus, facilitate waitlist registrations, and process orders for pick-up or delivery.
Yelp previewed the Host tool in April and will offer it to restaurants for a monthly fee starting at $149, with a reduced rate of $99 for Yelp Guest Manager subscribers. Future updates will enable the Host to add diners directly to the Yelp Waitlist.
The company is also launching the Yelp Receptionist, which is designed to answer incoming calls for various businesses. This AI agent, similar to Host, will address customer inquiries, gather information for leads, provide quotes, and assist with appointment scheduling. It comes pre-trained on Yelp’s business data and can respond to calls 24/7 or during peak times as needed.
Initially, the Receptionist will be available only to certain eligible businesses at a starting cost of $99 per month, but Yelp plans to broaden its availability for local businesses in the near future.
The introduction of these AI agents aligns with a growing trend in the service and hospitality industry, where companies like DoorDash are increasingly utilizing technology to enable businesses to prioritize in-person customer interactions. Other tech giants, such as Google, are also developing similar AI tools that can interact with businesses on behalf of consumers.
Source: https://www.theverge.com/news/802529/yelp-ai-host-receptionist