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Yelp launches AI voice agent 'Check for Me' for restaurant wait times

Yelp is introducing 'Check for Me', a new feature that uses an AI voice agent to call restaurants on behalf of users to check wait times. The feature is available on restaurant pages in the Yelp app, where users can enter their party size and phone number. The agent then calls the restaurant and sends the results via text message. This follows the trend of personal assistants like Instinct, Fo, and Muse enabling users to call businesses for customer support. In addition, Yelp is updating its AI assistant with an OpenTable integration for booking, better personalization, chat history, custom reminders, and a new lists feature with 'Been Here' and 'Want to Go' lists. The company is also launching 'Smart Lead Reply', a paid product for business owners at $30 per month, which uses AI to reply to customers and qualify leads.

• Yelp launches 'Check for Me' feature that uses an AI voice agent to call restaurants and check wait times.
• Users enter party size and phone number; the agent texts them the results.
• Yelp updates its AI assistant with OpenTable integration for booking restaurants without leaving the app.

10-Q Financial Filing Analysis for Yelp (2026-08-07)

Yelp reported modest financial performance for Q2 2026, with total net revenue increasing 1% year-over-year to $375.52 million, up from $370.39 million in Q2 2025. Net income attributable to common stockholders declined 28% to $31.65 million ($0.57 per diluted share) compared to $44.09 million ($0.67 per diluted share) in the prior-year period. Revenue expansion was led by a 98% surge in Other revenue to $33.02 million, boosted by data licensing partnerships (including OpenAI) and the February 2026 acquisition of Hatchify Inc. (Hatch), which contributed $8.5 million in quarterly revenue. Conversely, core advertising revenue fell 3% to $342.50 million, pressured by a 10% contraction in the Restaurants, Retail & Other category. Operating expenses rose 5% year-over-year to $331.79 million, driven by higher website infrastructure and AI product investments, marketing initiatives, and Hatch-related integration and amortization costs. Free cash flow for the first six months reached $106.23 million. Management announced a strategic pause on share repurchases for the remainder of 2026 to prioritize debt repayment on its $100.0 million outstanding credit facility borrowings.

• Q2 2026 net revenue rose 1% year-over-year to $375.52 million, while net income fell 28% to $31.65 million and adjusted EBITDA declined 9% to $91.43 million.
• Acquisition of Hatchify Inc. (closed February 2, 2026 for $271.22 million total consideration) contributed $8.5 million in Q2 revenue and reached an annual run-rate revenue of approximately $35 million in June 2026.
• Yelp had $100.0 million in borrowings outstanding under its $325.0 million revolving credit facility as of June 30, 2026, and is pausing share repurchases through year-end 2026 to prioritize debt reduction.

Yelp and Hatch advance voice AI for restaurants and service pros with OpenAI’s GPT-Live-1

We’ve integrated OpenAI’s GPT-Live-1 into Yelp Host, our voice AI solution for restaurants and Hatch, an AI communication platform for service businesses. Yelp Host and Hatch are among the first solutions to deploy GPT-Live-1, OpenAI’s latest voice model that can listen and respond simultaneously, allowing overlapping speech for more natural conversations.