Yelp also joins the ranks of platforms that are expanding their use of artificial intelligence as it launches a new feature on iOS that aggregates user reviews in a piece of text near the top of a company's Yelp page. Yelp says the new feature uses large language models (LLM) to analyze user feedback to highlight "what the business is best known for, based on first-hand reviews."
This might include mentioning a location's atmosphere, popular dishes, amenities, and more. One example (pictured at the top of this article) describes a restaurant as a "retro diner known for classic cheeseburgers and affordable prices."
This sounds similar to how companies like Amazon and Newegg summarize reviews, but Yelp's version is less comprehensive because it doesn't single out any of the pros and cons that users have raised.
Akhil Kuduvalli Ramesh, Yelp's senior vice president of consumer products, said the display of AI summaries will depend on a "reliable number of recent reviews" recommended by the company's software that highlights user feedback. AI-powered snippets are only available for companies in the restaurant, food, and nightlife industries.
Yelp is also adding several other features to the iOS app, including a new homepage feed that uses artificial intelligence to display more content and photos related to local businesses. In addition, Yelp has also revamped the search on iOS, adding more photos to the search results page, such as a revolving door showing the foods that users often search for. This allows users to swipe to display photos of popular dishes from local restaurants, such as pizza, ramen or tacos, when they're looking for something specific.
As for the Android app, Yelp only has the "surprise me" option that it launched on iOS last year. Users on Android devices will have to wait until later this year to enjoy AI snippets, overhauled search results, and improved homepage content.