Technology
Yelp’s new AI agent will call restaurants to check the wait for you
Check for Me is planned for eligible U.S. restaurant listings and Yelp Assistant on iOS over the coming months; it is not a universal launch today.
What to know
- The feature calls a restaurant and sends the reported wait time by text.
- Diners enter a party size and phone number.
- Yelp says rollout is coming over the next few months for eligible U.S. restaurants on iOS.
- It is intended for situations where walk-ins are possible; checking a wait is different from holding a reservation.
Yelp announced an AI phone agent Tuesday that can ask a restaurant about its current wait and text the answer to a diner. The feature, called Check for Me, is part of the company’s fall product release.
From searching to calling
Restaurant listings help people choose where to eat, but a live queue can change after a search. Yelp’s proposed tool asks the business for a current answer rather than treating an old listing as a live wait estimate.
The company also announced an OpenTable integration for Yelp Assistant and expanded tools for booking service professionals. Those are separate functions within the wider release.
What remains to be tested
The announcement describes how the feature is intended to work. NewsCubby has not independently tested its call quality, response time or accuracy.
A wait-time answer is a snapshot, not a guarantee that a table will still be available when a diner arrives. Restaurant availability, the rollout and the response to an individual call will determine how useful the feature is in practice.
For now, look for an eligible listing or an in-app option when the rollout reaches your account. An absent button does not mean a user has done something wrong.
