Blog Archive

Tuesday, April 30, 2024

Yelp announced the launch of its new AI assistant

 

Yelp, the popular crowd-sourced review platform, has announced the launch of its new AI assistant, Yelp Assistant, and TikTok-style videos to enhance user experience. These features are part of Yelp's efforts to leverage generative AI to improve business discovery and connection.
Yelp Assistant is a conversational chat experience that helps users find the right professionals for various services such as home repair, local services, auto, beauty, pet care, and more. The AI assistant asks follow-up questions to understand the user's project or problem, provides relevant businesses, and even drafts and submits a detailed request to those businesses on behalf of the user, including inquiries about pricing and availability.
The Yelp Assistant can be found in the "Projects" tab and is currently available on iOS, with an Android rollout planned for later this summer. However, it's worth noting that the assistant may only surface sponsored businesses, which could limit its usefulness.
In addition to the AI assistant, Yelp is also testing TikTok-style videos that provide a breakdown of what people are saying about certain businesses, such as restaurants. These videos use AI to stitch together videos, photos, and AI voiceover sharing information and insights from user reviews. The result is a visually engaging and user-friendly way to discover businesses, which could be a welcome change for the visually inclined.
Yelp's use of generative AI is part of a larger trend in the tech industry, as companies seek to harness the power of large language models (LLMs) to analyze and summarize large quantities of data. This technology has the potential to revolutionize the way people discover and connect with local businesses, and Yelp is at the forefront of this innovation.
According to Craig Saldanha, Yelp's chief product officer, "AI enables us to transform the way people discover and connect with local businesses." With the launch of Yelp Assistant and TikTok-style videos, Yelp is taking a significant step towards achieving this goal.
Overall, Yelp's new AI features have the potential to enhance user experience and make it easier for people to find the right professionals for their needs. As the company continues to innovate and push the boundaries of what is possi

No comments:

Post a Comment