Yelp Check for Me is a new AI-powered feature that calls restaurants to check wait times for users. The company announced the tool on October 20, alongside updates to its restaurant discovery, booking, and business management services.
The feature lets users request wait times without calling a restaurant themselves. It is part of Yelp’s broader effort to make its app more useful for everyday activities.
How Yelp Check for Me Works
Users can select Check for Me from eligible restaurant pages, enter their party size and provide a phone number. An AI voice agent then calls the restaurant and texts the reported wait time.
The feature will roll out over the coming months for eligible U.S. restaurants through Yelp’s iOS app. It builds on the company’s existing voice technology for restaurants and service providers.
Similar capabilities are emerging elsewhere. Google is testing a Gemini calling feature that can contact businesses for reservations and inquiries. Meanwhile, Instinct’s AI assistant can make calls to arrange appointments and handle everyday requests.
These services also face challenges when automated agents encounter other AI-powered phone systems. Handling unexpected questions and complex conversations remains an important reliability concern.
Yelp Adds OpenTable Booking and Personalized Recommendations
Yelp is expanding its AI assistant with OpenTable integration, allowing users to book restaurant reservations without leaving the app.
The assistant will also remember preferences from previous conversations to improve recommendations. Users can access their past 30 days of chat history, with complete conversation history expected later.
New reminder features will let users schedule recurring suggestions, such as weekend activity recommendations every Friday.
Yelp is also introducing My Lists, which initially includes Been Here and Want to Go collections. Users can save restaurants and businesses, add notes, reorder entries and share lists with others.
Users can filter lists by location, category, and cuisine. Starting next month, Yelp plans to introduce weekly recommendations based on saved places and user rankings. Yelp also plans additional updates, including a map view, later this year.
Smart Lead Reply Brings AI Automation to Businesses
Alongside its consumer updates, Yelp is introducing Smart Lead Reply, a paid tool for service businesses. The feature automatically responds to customer inquiries, gathers relevant details and helps qualify potential leads.
Business owners can customize how the system communicates, including the questions it asks and the information it provides. The service will cost eligible businesses $30 per month.
Smart Lead Reply is scheduled to begin rolling out in November. It reflects growing competition among technology platforms offering automated customer engagement tools to smaller businesses.
With these updates, Yelp is expanding beyond business discovery into booking, personalized planning and customer communication. The success of its voice agents will depend on reliable interactions and their ability to handle real-world requests effectively.
