Yelp is celebrating 20 years of connecting people with local businesses by dropping an impressive lineup of AI-powered features designed to make life easier for users and help businesses shine. The latest updates include everything from AI-driven Review Insights to personalized discovery feeds and tools that make connecting with service pros a breeze. Let’s break it down and see why these updates is highly important for consumers and businesses alike. Here are Yelp’s new AI powered features:
1. AI-Powered Review Insights
Spent too much time scrolling through endless reviews, trying to decide if a place is worth it? Yelp’s new AI-powered Review Insights can save you so much time!
Using advanced language models, this tool analyzes reviews and highlights what people are saying about key aspects like food quality, service, ambiance, and even wait times.
Instead of reading dozens of reviews, you can now check out quick sentiment scores—positive, neutral, or critical—ranging from 1 to 100. This feature provides insightful feedback into what customers like. It also tells what businesses could do better.
2. Enhanced Business Discovery
Yelp has leveled up its game with updates that make finding local businesses easier and more fun. The home feed now offers personalized content, trending searches, and even AI-stitched videos that give you a sneak peek of what it’s like to visit a business.
These AI-stitched videos are a creative mash-up of real photos, videos, and info from Yelp. For example, a restaurant’s video might highlight its signature dishes, cozy ambiance, and glowing customer reviews—all in one quick, engaging clip.
For businesses, this is a golden opportunity. By keeping their Yelp profiles always update their listing can be featured in searches.
3. Recognitions and Transparency
Yelp is all about making it easier for users to trust the reviews they read. The expanded “Recognitions” program is a great example. It highlights reviewers who are experts in specific categories.
These badges now show up alongside reviews, so you can quickly spot reliable opinions. You can even click on a reviewer’s badge to see other businesses they’ve reviewed for more recommendations.
Transparency is also getting a boost with new tipping and payment policy details. Businesses can now indicate if they have a “no tipping” policy or alternative payment options like PayPal or Venmo.
4. Seamless Connections with Service Pros
Yelp’s new tools allow you to effortlessly connect with someone if your project requires more than what you can deliver. After submitting a request on the Yelp platform, you can directly reach out to service pros and ask about their services to then sync up over a call as the updated version of the Yelp Assistant incorporates these features. There’s no more waiting for a response to your inquiry, you can modify project specifications, and include pictures of your intended design.
For business owners, this means less hassle and more efficiency. A redesigned inbox now uses AI to summarize key job details, like project scope and location, so pros can quickly evaluate leads and respond faster.
Yelp has also integrated its Request a Quote feature into Apple Maps. This means users can request quotes directly from a business’s Apple Maps page, seamlessly transitioning into Yelp’s mobile app.
5. AI-Optimized Ads
Advertising on Yelp is smarter than ever, thanks to AI-driven features that intelligently manage ad placements and pinpoint target audiences. These characteristics fit user data in order to guarantee businesses are advertising to people most likely to buy.
For example, if you’re running a bakery and promoting birthday cakes, Yelp Ads will target users searching for “birthday cakes near me. This means your ads land in front of the right people at the right time, maximizing your return on investment.
Having these AI tools, running ad campaigns is less effortful, meaning that business owners can devote more time to doing business.
Why These Updates Matter
Yelp’s new features are all about making things easier for everyone. For customers, tools like Review Insights and personalized discovery feeds cut down on the time and effort it takes to find great businesses. For businesses, AI-optimized ads and smarter lead management mean better visibility and more opportunities to grow.
In today’s world, being active on platforms like Yelp isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s essential. People rely on reviews and detailed info to decide where to eat, shop, or hire a pro. With these updates, businesses have more tools than ever to connect with the right audience, build trust, and create lasting customer relationships.
How Cybertegic Can Help?
If all these new Yelp features sound amazing but a bit overwhelming, don’t worry—that’s where Cybertegic comes in. Cybertegic is a digital marketing agency in Pasadena and a Certified Yelp Ad Agency that specializes in helping businesses make the most of their Yelp presence.
Whether optimizing your profile or managing AI-enhanced ad campaigns, Cybertegic has you covered. With our expertise, we can help you attract more customers and stay ahead of the competition.
Cybertegic ensures your Yelp strategy is not only effective but also future-proof and customer-focused. Ready to take your Yelp game to the next level? Let Cybertegic show you how.
