Yelp unveils 3 new features to transform user experience and boost engagement

Yelp is set to unveil 3 new features to enhance user experience and give businesses more ways to connect with their customers. These new features include:

• Yelp Guaranteed. A satisfaction guarantee designed to provide peace of mind to users who request quotes from home service professionals.
• An advanced search experience powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Large Language ****** (LLMs), helping users discover and connect with the perfect businesses for their needs.
• The addition of immersive video, interactive topics, and new reactions in reviews, making Yelp contributions even more engaging.

Yelp Guaranteed. Offers a stress-free experience when hiring home service professionals. To address those concerns and provide a more secure experience, Yelp Guaranteed, is a satisfaction guarantee program offering users up to $2,500 back if something goes wrong with their project.

By participating in the Yelp Guaranteed program, businesses demonstrate their commitment to quality service and customer satisfaction. The Yelp Guaranteed badge on their business page signals to potential customers that they can trust the business to deliver on their promises.

How it works. Upon hiring an eligible business through Yelp’s Request a Quote feature, users will automatically be enrolled in the program. This allows them to submit a claim if they encounter difficulties resolving an issue directly with the business – whether it is due to dissatisfaction with the work performed, property damage related to the project, or the business failing to show up for a pre-paid job.

Availability. Yelp Guaranteed is currently available for eligible Request a Quote-enabled advertisers, based on various qualification factors.

Yelp Guaranteed is accessible in San Francisco, New York City, Chicago, Seattle, and Washington D.C., and spans some of the most in-demand home service categories on Yelp, such as movers, plumbers, HVAC, contractors, landscapers, electricians, and more.

In these cities, users can easily find businesses supported by Yelp on iOS by applying the “Yelp Guaranteed” filter in search or looking for the Yelp Guaranteed badge on eligible business pages and in the ‘Projects’ tab. This summer, Yelp plans to extend Yelp Guaranteed’s availability nationwide, make it more prominent across the Yelp app, and introduce it on all platforms, including Android and the web.

AI and Large Language ******. Yelp is working to enhance the search experience by utilizing Large Language ****** (LLMs) and AI.

Several new AI-powered search features have been announced, including:

• Review highlights, driven by LLMs, make discovering relevant businesses easier by better understanding users’ search intent and highlighting pertinent information from reviews in new snippets that appear under each business listing in search results.
• AI-powered search suggestions assist users in finding businesses anywhere, providing improved search suggestions based on search intent that are not limited by location.
• The “Surprise Me” feature offers inspiration for dining choices, generating a unique, highly-rated recommendation near the user when they are indecisive about where to eat.
• Clickable category tags enhance discovery in search, allowing users to refine their search and connect with the right business, particularly in the restaurant, food, and nightlife categories.

The improved search and discovery features powered by AI and LLMs can surface more relevant businesses to users, increasing the visibility of these businesses on the platform. That increased exposure can lead to more inquiries, reviews, and, ultimately, more business opportunities.

New visual and interactive features. Yelp is also introducing new visual and interactive features for users to share their experiences with businesses and engage with or react to reviews in novel ways.

The new visual and interactive features on Yelp help businesses showcase their offerings more effectively, increase user engagement, enhance storytelling, improve reputation, boost visibility, and gain valuable insights, all contributing to business growth and success.

• Videos in reviews: Videos offer a powerful way to capture and share experiences, whether it’s a steaming bowl of ramen, a newly discovered hiking trail in a local park, or the view from a recent hotel stay. Users can now post high-resolution videos up to 12 seconds in length alongside their text reviews and photos, providing a unique glimpse into their experiences with businesses.
• Review topics for easier writing: To assist users in overcoming writer’s block when crafting reviews, Yelp is introducing interactive review topics – “food,” “service,” and “ambiance” – for restaurant, food, and nightlife businesses. These topics help users keep track of their coverage and suggest other aspects to address. Once a topic is covered, it will automatically turn green with a checkmark at the top of the draft review. Yelp plans to expand relevant review topics to additional categories, such as services, beauty, health, and shopping, in the coming months.
• New review reactions: The “Useful,” “Funny,” and “Cool” review reactions have been synonymous with Yelp for the past 15 years. Now, Yelp is introducing more expressive ways to appreciate users for their reviews with new “Helpful,” “Thanks,” “**** this,” and “Oh no” reactions. These new reactions have already resulted in a sixfold increase in reactions to reviews.

Dig deeper. Learn more about the new features here.

Why we care. These new features enhance targeting, visibility, and user engagement for businesses, ultimately leading to better advertising outcomes. The AI-driven search features, personalized recommendations, and visually rich content help connect users with businesses that match their specific needs, increasing the chances of conversion. Furthermore, programs like Yelp Guaranteed can instill trust among users, further benefiting advertisers who participate in the program.