Yelp Taps Turbocharged AI to Improve Online Search

Yelp has for months been testing how it could use the latest generation of artificial intelligence (AI) without undermining the trust of the consumers who use it to find business listings. On Wednesday, the U.S.-based user-generated reviews company released an updated search interface based on these advances.

For instance, a search for places serving “breakfast” will no longer merely return listings with the specific word “breakfast” tagged or mentioned. It will now also highlight listings that mention relevant words, such as eggs and pancakes, said Craig Saldanha, chief product officer.

Yelp’s search does tricks like this by taking advantage of artificial intelligence (AI) and so-called large language models to help match consumers with the most relevant local businesses when they have a specific or nuanced need. It’s tapping technology similar to chatbot ChatGBT and other generative artificial intelligence programs.

“By leveraging these technologies to analyze the vast amounts of our user-generated content, in the future, we’ll be able to quickly, precisely, and succinctly summarize insights and provide personalized recommendations based on your search intent,” the company said.

The changes were among several others announced by Yelp on Wednesday.

Skift readers can get context by reading this month’s roundup on generative AI’s impact on the travel industry. Skift Research subscribers can learn more with the just-released report: Generative AI’s Impact on Travel.