As
Yelp
tries
to
remind
users
it’s
more
than
just
a
place
to
find
a
new
restaurant
to
try,
it’s
launching
the
Yelp
Assistant,
an
AI
chatbot
that
“contextually”
understands
what
users
are
looking
for
and
can
match
them
with
service
professionals
in
their
area.
If
you
want
to
replace
your
bathtub,
the
chatbot
will
ask
questions
like
what
type
of
bathtub
you
want
and
which
features
you’re
interested
in,
then
suggest
a
couple
of
nearby
bathtub
installers.
People
have
the
option
of
writing
their
own
messages
to
selected
businesses
or
having
Yelp
Assistant
make
one
for
them.
After
you
review
the
final
project
request
(generated
based
on
what
you
asked
for
in
your
chat
session),
the
bot
can
send
it
to
service
providers
on
your
behalf,
which
Yelp
says
can
result
in
better
and
more
accurate
price
quotes.
Yelp
Assistant
helps
find
professionals
for
most
services.Image:
Yelp
Yelp
says
the
chatbot
also
works
with
other
services
like
massage
therapists,
pet
care,
real
estate,
or
financial
services.
Yelp
Assistant,
powered
by
large
language
models
from
OpenAI,
is
available
now
in
the
iOS
versions
of
its
mobile
app
and
will
roll
out
on
Android
this
summer.
Yelp
has
added
other
generative
AI
features
already,
like
the
AI-powered
review
summaries
of
restaurants
and
nightlife
businesses
that
it
launched
last
year.
It’s
also
used
AI
to
surface
more
content
and
photos
on
the
app’s
home
feed.
In
addition
to
Yelp
Assistant,
the
company
is
also
updating
its
Yelp
Fusion
AI
API,
an
API
that
connects
Yelp’s
data
to
third-party
platforms.
While
it
used
to
connect
user
reviews
and
data,
Yelp
Fusion
API
allows
partner
companies
to
integrate
natural
language
search
of
Yelp’s
database.
Currently,
it
only
supports
single
question-and-answer
conversations,
but
Yelp
says
a
longer
conversation
string
will
be
available
later
this
year.
The
AI
search
platform
Perplexity
added
Yelp’s
content
to
its
search
results
through
the
Yelp
Fusion
API.
The
updated
Yelp
Fusion
API
is
now
available
to
Yelp
partners,
while
non-partners
can
trial
the
service
for
30
days.
(Originally posted by Emilia David)
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