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Yelp is stepping up its game to help restaurants and service professionals never miss a customer call again. The company has unveiled its newest innovation: AI-powered voice agents designed to make answering calls, handling common questions, and managing simple tasks faster, easier, and more reliable.
Built for busy businesses that can’t always pick up the phone, these intelligent agents can jump in to help with everything from checking waitlist availability to forwarding reservation details—without requiring complicated setups or tech integrations. Yelp’s voice agents work seamlessly using a business’s existing info and preferences, like pronunciation guides, custom greetings, and call routing rules.
“We know that many professionals are juggling multiple things at once and often can’t answer every call,” said Craig Saldanha, Yelp’s Chief Product Officer. “This solution is built to help them stay connected with potential customers and make sure they don’t lose business simply because they were too busy to answer the phone.”
In a restaurant setting, the AI agent can automatically check table availability and even connect to the restaurant’s management software to send confirmations to guests. The agents also come with features like spam call filtering, call summaries, and full transcripts, so businesses stay in the loop without being tied to the phone.
What sets Yelp’s voice tech apart is how it uses OpenAI’s Realtime API to manage entire conversations smoothly—asking follow-up questions, understanding context, and delivering fast, accurate answers. Yelp also leverages its robust knowledge graph to personalize interactions in a way that feels natural and helpful.
Every AI interaction ends with a detailed call summary and recording, giving business owners full transparency while freeing up their time.
Yelp says the technology is designed to adapt quickly and is constantly being evaluated for speed, accuracy, and user experience. As AI voice tech becomes more widespread, Yelp believes its edge lies in how well it understands both the business and the customer.
This move reinforces Yelp’s continued push to equip small businesses with cutting-edge tools—making sure they stay one step ahead in an increasingly digital world.
