Yelp introduces AI-generated summaries of restaurants, bars, and more
Yelp reviews are getting the AI treatment.
Today, the OG online review platform announced AI-powered business summaries in addition to a slew of other features for businesses and users alike.
Yelp's large language models (LLMs) parse through recent reviews, condensing them into short summaries that offer accurate depictions of what each business is known for — and what to expect, such as atmosphere, service, amenities, popular dish to try, etc.
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Businesses have been seeking to capitalize on the hype of ChatGPT, which is the fastest-growing app in internet history. This includes leveraging generative AI's abilities like writing and summarizing into time-saving tools for work and life.
As more companies put out consumer-facing AI features, it also means more AI-generated content circulating, which is an entirely new territory for life on the web.
Yelp's AI-powered business summary is reminiscent of a recent Amazon feature that provides summaries of product reviews. Both use LLMs to ingest possibly thousands of reviews, condensing them into 3-4 sentences to save users time and effort.
Mashable hasn't had the chance to test out Yelp's AI summaries, but found some errors and inaccuracies with the Amazon feature that all LLMs are prone to.
To address such issues, Yelp only uses recent reviews to train the LLM and has safety framework in place to "mitigate incorrect and inappropriate content," said a spokesperson. Business owners can always contact Yelp Support if they believe a summary is inaccurate. The business summaries also have a disclosure letting users know it's AI-generated and will be monitoring user feedback and engagement.
Yelp AI-generated business summaries are available on iOS and will roll out to Android and desktop later this year.
Cecily is a tech reporter at Mashable who covers AI, Apple, and emerging tech trends. Before getting her master's degree at Columbia Journalism School, she spent several years working with startups and social impact businesses for Unreasonable Group and B Lab. Before that, she co-founded a startup consulting business for emerging entrepreneurial hubs in South America, Europe, and Asia. You can find her on X at @cecily_mauran.
