Introducing Yelp Host and Yelp Receptionist: Never miss a customer call

For many businesses, reliable, around-the-clock call handling is essential to capture every lead and best serve your customers. But when you're understaffed, on a job site, or simply busy, even one missed call can mean significant lost revenue.

Yelp's new AI-powered call answering solutions for restaurants and local businesses-Yelp Host and Yelp Receptionist-handle every call so staff can focus on guests and clients, not the phone. Yelp Host and Yelp Receptionist ask intelligent follow-up questions, take and summarize messages, manage reservations and leads, transfer callers when needed, and filter spam. Unlike alternative call bots, these solutions combine large language models with Yelp's high quality data and proprietary voice system, for a smarter, faster, and more human-like AI voice tailored to each individual business.

Both services come pre-trained on Yelp business information and work out-of-the-box to answer calls 24/7, or only when extra coverage is needed. They are fully customizable to reflect your brand: you can set a greeting, choose the agent's name and voice, define the questions it asks callers, and add details about special offers, pricing, or any other information you want the AI agent to share with customers. You'll also be provided with a dedicated phone number you can list anywhere, and the option to set up call forwarding.

Yelp Host

Available now, Yelp Host is a fully autonomous AI agent that transforms how restaurants handle guest calls and table management, freeing up front-of-house teams to focus on in-person hospitality. Seamlessly integrated with Yelp Guest Manager, Yelp Host goes beyond answering calls and responding to guests' inquiries by proactively taking reservations, including modifying or canceling bookings managed through Yelp; providing current wait times; and capturing special requests. In the coming weeks, Yelp Host will also be able to add diners directly to the Yelp Waitlist.

In this video, a diner calls a restaurant and Yelp Host answers menu questions, helps book a reservation, and gathers the diner's preferences, allowing staff to focus on in-person guests while providing a seamless booking experience.

With automated SMS follow-up, you can have the service send guests links to menus, take credit card holds, join the waitlist, place orders for pickup or delivery, or make reservations across any platform, and more. Whether callers ask about vegan options, a dog-friendly patio, or want to book a table, Yelp Host handles the call effortlessly.

Early beta testers are already seeing significant value from Yelp Host:

"Yelp is truly the go-to platform for restaurants and the service industry. I've already been very satisfied with the return on ad spend, and now having the AI answering service increases the overall value. It'll save a lot of money for restaurant owners by handling calls that usually distract servers and pulls them away from serving diners, especially on busy nights. It elevates the guest experience because the servers or host can pay more attention to those already on site, making Yelp Host money well spent. So just those two things are something every restaurant owner would kill to have."

- Jongpil Kim, CEO of MUN Korean Steakhouse in Los Angeles, CA

This video shows how the Yelp Host settings in your Yelp for Business account allow you to fully customize greetings, agent details, menu and dietary information, amenities, and more-ensuring every caller's experience reflects your restaurant's brand and special offerings.

You can expect even more call enhancements, analytics and host tools to come. Yelp Host is currently available for table-service restaurants starting at $149 per month ($99 per month for Yelp Guest Manager customers); see full pricing and terms. Restaurants can sign up directly in the "Yelp Host" tab when logged into their Yelp for Business account.

Yelp Receptionist

Starting to roll out this week, Yelp Receptionist handles incoming calls for eligible local businesses and helps prevent missed leads, so you can stay responsive around the clock, whether it's after hours or while you're on a job.

In addition to answering calls and responding to customer questions, Yelp Receptionist intelligently asks nuanced questions to capture project details, vets and helps qualify new leads, and collects the information you need to provide an accurate quote or schedule a consultation or appointment. Each call is automatically recorded, transcribed, and summarized by the AI agent, then delivered to your Yelp for Business inbox in real time.

In this video, a consumer calls a house cleaning business and Yelp Receptionist asks intelligent follow-up questions to gather all the details the business owner needs to provide accurate pricing and efficiently convert the lead into a customer.

"Yelp Receptionist genuinely sounds human, which makes it easy for me to trust it to handle our leads while my team stays focused on the projects at hand. It exceeded my expectations because it feels like you're talking to a real person, not a robot."

- Krzysztof Jarecki, owner of FLOORecki Floors and Stairs in Chicago, IL

This video demonstrates how the Yelp Receptionist settings in your Yelp for Business account offer full customization-letting business owners tailor greetings, agent details, questions, and key business information, so every customer call reflects your unique brand and priorities.

Yelp Receptionist starts at $99 per month (see full pricing and terms), and eligible businesses can sign up in the "Yelp Receptionist" tab when logged into their Yelp for Business account. Yelp Receptionist will be widely available for local businesses across categories in the coming months.

We're excited to put this powerful AI technology into the hands of local business owners, helping them capture more leads and focus on what they do best. These tools are just one part of our latest update-see everything else we announced today, including the new Yelp Assistant, Menu Vision, and more, in our Fall Product Release.