Yelp's latest update includes AI suggestions, new review options and more
A "Surprise Me" button solves having to decide what's for dinner.
Yelp has announced a bunch of updates across its site and apps, including a light lean into the AI trend. New features include providing a consumer guarantee, expanded review options and password-free logins.
Yelp is utilizing AI and natural language models to further improve its search features. When you search for a specific place, like a tennis court, Yelp will suggest options and add a review with helpful information about going there — such as being able to book in advance. Further updates include showing you relevant businesses across the country and clickable tags like "Breakfast and Brunch."
If you're unsure what you're craving, their new "Surprise Me" button will suggest a well-rated restaurant in your area. It's available right on your search page and you can keep clicking it until something gets your taste buds excited.
Yelp Guaranteed is a new protection available for people looking to hire anyone from a plumber to a contractor. Customers who use Yelp's Request A Quote service can find businesses that are "Backed by Yelp Guaranteed" — it will display it right on their information page. If anything goes wrong after you hire one of them, Yelp says it will reimburse you up to to $2,500.
Currently, it's only available in select major cities like San Francisco, Chicago and Seattle, with just iOS users able to filter for it. According to Yelp, it should roll out nationwide and extend to Android and web users this summer.
Yelp is encouraging users to cover food, service and ambiance in their reviews, with each topic appearing at the top of the page. If you mention anything in one of the categories, it will light up green and have a checkmark next to it. You can also now add videos up to 12 seconds along with your review.
The final set of Yelp's updates focus on the site's look and logistics. Just like with reviews, Yelp Connect — the paid option for business owners to share updates — now offers a video option. Yelp's home and navigation pages have also been refreshed to include easier access to restaurants' menus and ratings.
This should all be a little quicker to access with Yelp finally offering automatic logins. You'll be sent a secure email the next time you sign in and, from then on, you don't have to worry about remembering your password. A lot of these are small changes but, overall, could make Yelp a bit more comprehensive moving forward.
