The review site’s new AI app offers 20 new wrinkles for consumers and companies.
The business review site Yelp is on a heater.
The company reports 265 million reviews on its platform and 33 million unique mobile app devices on an average monthly basis.
Ironically, Yelp is an advertising magnet of its own. Over 60% of its site visitors have college degrees, and 55% make more than $100,000 annually. Those are numbers that companies want to see when they spend their advertising dollars.
Now, Yelp is looking to take that user experience to another level with a new AI-powered mobile app update release that introduces artificial intelligent-generated restaurant summaries, which diners can use to find the best eateries, bars and coffee shops.
Those same restaurants can soon pair those summaries with images and videos to better attract more customers, with Yelp getting advertising dollars out of the deal. (Yelp says the video tool should be out in a month or two.)
Yelp for Business Takes a Step Forward
Here’s a capsule review of some of the notable features . . .
A new AI-powered home feed: Yelp’s new home feed experience on iOS uses AI to help consumers discover new businesses in their community.
A more visual iOS search experience: Site users can use a new search tool that steers them to a new suggestion page highlighting popular and recent searches.
The component features a new “search” tab that helps users narrow their choices with search recommendations and new carousels that highlight photos of popular dishes for “frequently searched foods.” That feature is expected to hit the app later in 2024.
AI-powered business summaries: Yelp is using LLMs to parse recent reviews and check out descriptions of restaurant, food, and nightlife spots at the top of the business page — highlighting elements such as the atmosphere, service, amenities, value, or a popular dish.
New data-driven insights for business owners: The Yelp for Business homepage offers more specific (and faster) business page performance metrics on customer and competitor insights. “This includes data on the neighborhoods where most consumers are searching for the services they offer, trending search terms in their area, performance comparisons to similar businesses,” Yelp says.
Businesses can also start taking advantage of new “AI-powered smart budgets” that help maximize their ad spending experience. Features include AI-driven “insights” on how companies provide better customer experiences via “valuable market and competitive” data that translates into bigger consumer spending dollars.
Currently, Yelp’s new AI app is only out on iOS, but Yelp expects an Android version to be out this spring.
Brian O’Connell, a former Wall Street bond trader and best-selling author, is a prominent figure in the finance industry. With a substantial background as an ex-Wall Street trader, he has authored two best-selling books: ‘The 401k Millionaire’ and ‘CNBC’s Creating Wealth’, demonstrating his profound knowledge of finance and investing.
Brian is also a finance and business writer for esteemed national platforms and publications, including CNN, TheStreet.com, CBS News, The Wall Street Journal, U.S. News & World Report, Forbes, and Fox News.
