Yelp Adds AI Calling Tool to Check Restaurant Wait Times, Launches $30 Smart Lead Reply
Updated
Updated · TechCrunch · Oct 20
Yelp Adds AI Calling Tool to Check Restaurant Wait Times, Launches $30 Smart Lead Reply
3 articles · Updated · TechCrunch · Oct 20
Summary
Check for Me lets Yelp users enter a party size and phone number, then have an AI voice agent call a restaurant and text back current wait times.
The feature extends Yelp’s AI push from businesses to consumers after last year’s voice tools for restaurants and service providers, though agent-to-agent calls could create breakdowns.
OpenTable integration now lets users book tables without leaving Yelp, while the updated AI assistant remembers preferences, stores 30 days of chat history, and can send custom reminders.
Two new lists—Been Here and Want to Go—add notes, filters and sharing, with weekly personalized recommendations due next month and a redesigned lists tab and maps view planned later this year.
Yelp also rolled out Smart Lead Reply, a $30-a-month product for businesses that uses AI to answer customers and qualify leads as rivals like Meta target small-business support.