Yelp introduces Check for Me feature that lets AI agent call restaurants on user's behalf Over the last few weeks personal assistants like Instinct Fo and Muse have enabled users to call businesses for customer support and appointment booking. Following this trend Yelp is adding the ability for its app users to get a voice agent to call a restaurant to check wait times. The new feature Check for Me will show up on restaurant pages in the app where users can enter their party size and phone number. The AI agent then calls on behalf of the user to check wait times and texts them the results to decide if they want to go to that particular restaurant. Last year Yelp debuted its voice solution for restaurants and service providers. With this new feature the discovery platform is fulfilling the consumer side of the equation though there is a possibility that a user's agent will talk to the restaurant's agent and agent-to-agent communication might break down the conversation. Yelp is also updating its Yelp AI assistant that helps users discover restaurants and services. With the new OpenTable integration users can easily book a restaurant without leaving the app. Yelp is adding better personalization to its assistant by having it remember preferences that you might have mentioned in previous chats. Plus you can access your chat history from the past 30 days in the app with full history available soon. Users can ask the chatbot to set custom reminders such as sending suggestions for weekend activities every Friday. The company is also letting users build their own lists starting with two "Been Here" and "Want to Go" lists. You can filter your lists by location category and cuisine reorder add notes to items and share them with others. Next month the company will start showing weekly personalized recommendations based on your saved items and rankings. Yelp is also working on converting collections to lists and giving the lists tab a new look rolling out later in the year along with a maps view. To cap off all these changes Yelp has been thinking about enhancing customer support and business processes through AI. In the new update the company is releasing a new paid product called Smart Lead Reply which can reply to customers and engage with them to qualify a lead. Business owners who will be charged $30 per month for these services can specify how an agent should handle a conversation with a customer. Other companies like Meta have also been courting small businesses with AI offerings to handle inbound customer inquiries.

Check for Me puts AI agent on the phone

Yelp's Check for Me feature addresses a common frustration: deciding whether to bother visiting a restaurant without knowing wait times. The feature appears on restaurant pages in the app. Users enter party size and phone number then the AI agent calls the restaurant on their behalf. After the call the agent texts the wait-time results. This lets users decide if they want to head to the venue without calling themselves. The service follows a trend started by personal assistants Instinct Fo and Muse that already enable users to call businesses for support and appointment booking.

Last year Yelp debuted its voice solution for restaurants and service providers. The new feature completes the consumer side of that equation. A noted consideration is that agent-to-agent communication might break down the conversation if both the user's AI agent and the restaurant's AI agent attempt to handle the call.

Yelp AI assistant gets personalization upgrades

Yelp's AI assistant now remembers preferences mentioned in previous chats. Users can access chat history from the past 30 days in the app with full history coming soon. The assistant also supports custom reminders. A user can ask the chatbot to send suggestions for weekend activities every Friday for example.

Another new capability is user-created lists. The app starts with two default lists "Been Here" and "Want to Go." Users can filter these lists by location category and cuisine. Other options include reordering items adding notes and sharing lists with others. These list-management tools give users more control over how they track restaurants and services they care about.

Weekly recommendations and lists tab redesign

Next month Yelp will start showing weekly personalized recommendations based on saved items and rankings. The company is also working on converting collections to lists and giving the lists tab a new look. A maps view is planned for later in the year. These changes aim to make it easier for users to discover and track places they might want to visit.

Smart Lead Reply helps businesses qualify customers

Yelp is also releasing a paid product for business owners called Smart Lead Reply. At $30 per month the service can reply to customers and engage with them to qualify a lead. Business owners can specify how an agent should handle a conversation with a customer. The product expands Yelp's AI offerings beyond the consumer side into small-business tools. Other companies like Meta have been courting small businesses with similar AI offerings to handle inbound customer inquiries.

What this means for users and restaurant owners

For users the new features mean less time spent calling restaurants and more time discovering places that fit their preferences. The ability to set custom reminders and build filtered lists puts more control in the user's hands. For restaurant owners the Smart Lead Reply product offers a way to automate initial customer interactions at a predictable cost. The $30 monthly fee gives businesses a tool to handle routine inquiries without staffing a full call center.

Agent-to-agent communication remains a potential hurdle. If both sides have AI agents the conversation could stall if the systems don't align. Yelp will need to ensure the Check for Me flow handles these edge cases so users receive reliable wait-time information.

Getting started with Yelp's new features

Users can look for the Check for Me option on restaurant pages in the Yelp app. The AI assistant and list features are available immediately. Weekly personalized recommendations roll out next month. Business owners can explore Smart Lead Reply through their Yelp business dashboard.