By Dustin Stone, RTN staff writer - 10.29.2025
Yelp has rolled out a major expansion of its AI-powered product lineup with the launch of Yelp Host and Yelp Receptionist, two new voice-driven tools designed to answer calls, take reservations, and manage bookings for restaurants and other local businesses. The announcement, part of Yelp’s Fall 2025 product release, signals a broader move by the company — and the industry — toward automating customer management and front-of-house communication.
According to Yelp, the Host solution functions as an AI phone agent that can manage guest calls, update reservations, provide wait times, and capture special requests. The system can also text guests a link to join the waitlist, browse menus, or place pickup and delivery orders. Restaurants already using Yelp Guest Manager will see built-in integration, while other operators can subscribe to Host starting at $149 per month, or $99 per month for Guest Manager users. The company said additional functionality, including the ability to automatically add diners to a waitlist, will be available in the coming weeks.
The companion product, Yelp Receptionist, extends similar capabilities to a broader range of service businesses. The tool is designed to answer calls 24/7, respond to customer questions, collect lead details, provide quotes, and schedule appointments. Receptionist will launch initially for a select group of “eligible” businesses at $99 per month, with a wider rollout expected later this year. Both tools are pre-trained on Yelp’s business data and can operate independently or provide overflow coverage during peak hours.
The updates join a growing portfolio of AI-driven features across the Yelp ecosystem, including Yelp Assistant, a conversational chatbot that can answer user questions about businesses; Menu Vision, which uses augmented reality to display dish photos and review excerpts when users point their phone at a physical menu; and an upgraded voice search function that supports natural, conversational queries. Together, these tools reflect Yelp’s continued shift from being primarily a discovery and review platform to a more operationally integrated technology provider for restaurants and other local businesses.
For restaurant operators, the implications are clear. Call-handling automation is emerging as a new competitive advantage, especially amid ongoing staffing shortages and rising labor costs. AI phone agents like Yelp Host can reduce the burden on front-of-house staff, minimize missed calls, and improve response consistency during busy hours. Because the systems integrate directly with reservation and waitlist management tools, they also close a long-standing gap between guest communication and booking data.
At the same time, the technology raises familiar questions around brand control, data accuracy, and guest experience. Automated phone interactions must strike a balance between efficiency and authenticity; errors or tone mismatches could create frustration for guests expecting human service. Restaurants will also need to ensure that reservation data, messages, and customer details captured by AI systems flow seamlessly into their existing POS and CRM infrastructure.
Yelp’s move comes amid a broader industry push toward voice automation. DoorDash has begun piloting its own AI phone-ordering system for restaurants, for example, while Google continues to expand its Duplex technology, which can call businesses on behalf of users to ask questions or make reservations. Other companies in the hospitality and retail sectors are experimenting with similar tools aimed at reducing the friction of customer communication.
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In that context, Yelp’s entry into conversational AI for restaurants is both timely and strategic. The company already holds an enormous database of business profiles, menus, and user-generated content — a foundation that allows its AI agents to provide contextually accurate responses without requiring extensive training from operators. If widely adopted, Host and Receptionist could help redefine how independent restaurants handle guest communication, shifting routine call management from staff to software.
Still, practical adoption will depend on measurable results. Operators will want to see clear evidence of time savings, improved booking rates, and positive guest feedback before committing to new monthly costs. Early success will likely come from smaller or multi-unit operators looking to extend service coverage without adding labor.
For now, Yelp’s AI rollout highlights an accelerating convergence between marketing, discovery, and operations technology in the restaurant industry. As conversational AI becomes more capable, the boundary between guest inquiry and guest service continues to blur. Whether Yelp’s solutions become essential tools or remain optional conveniences will depend on how effectively they integrate into restaurant workflows and how well they preserve the human touch that defines hospitality.
