AI
Yelp adds AI agent to call restaurants for wait times, expands assistant features
The discovery platform is rolling out a voice agent that calls restaurants on behalf of users, plus new personalization tools and a paid lead-handling service for businesses.
TechCrunch — AI
Yelp is introducing a conversational AI feature that lets users delegate phone calls to restaurants, following a wave of personal assistant apps that have automated customer service interactions. The move underscores how voice agents are becoming a standard tool for bridging consumers and service providers.
Check for Me: Restaurant Wait Times via Voice Agent#
The new "Check for Me" feature allows Yelp app users to submit their party size and phone number, triggering an AI agent to contact a restaurant and inquire about current wait times. Once the agent gathers information, it texts the results back to the user, letting them decide whether to visit that establishment.
This capability extends Yelp's existing infrastructure—the company rolled out voice agent technology for restaurants and service providers last year, allowing businesses to field calls from AI callers. The consumer-facing version completes the loop, though it raises an interesting edge case: when a user's agent connects with a restaurant's agent, the conversation could potentially falter due to miscommunication between automated systems.
Upgraded Assistant with Booking and Personalization#
Alongside the wait-time checker, Yelp is enhancing its AI assistant with several quality-of-life improvements. A new integration with OpenTable enables users to book restaurants directly within the app without switching platforms.
The assistant now learns from your preferences mentioned in prior conversations and stores searchable chat history from the past 30 days—full history access is coming later. Users can also set up custom reminders, such as weekly weekend activity suggestions every Friday.
New Lists System and Upcoming Features#
Yelp is rolling out a redesigned list-building system, starting with pre-made "Been Here" and "Want to Go" categories. Lists support filtering by location, cuisine, and category, along with notes and sharing capabilities.
The company plans to launch weekly personalized recommendations based on saved items and ratings in the coming weeks. Additional updates—including collection-to-list conversion and a refreshed lists tab with maps integration—are set for later this year.
