Get ready for AI callers asking about your wait times
Yelp's new voice agent will phone restaurants for diners, and its $30-a-month tool can answer your leads, so it's time to decide how you'll handle AI contact.
What happened
TechCrunch reports that Yelp is adding a feature called Check for Me to restaurant pages in its app. A diner enters their party size and phone number, and a voice agent (software that can place a phone call and hold a conversation on its own) calls the restaurant to ask about the wait. It then texts the answer back to the diner.
The outlet notes that Yelp launched a voice tool for restaurants and service providers last year. That means a diner's agent could end up talking to a restaurant's agent, and the conversation might break down. Yelp is also selling a new product, Smart Lead Reply, for $30 per month. It replies to customers and engages with them to qualify a lead, and owners can specify how it should handle a conversation.
Why it matters
It's reasonable to guess that more of the calls and messages you get will come from a customer's assistant rather than the customer. MIT Technology Review says personal agent apps are spreading fast. It reports that Meta's Muse was downloaded 5 million times in its first month and that agentic web traffic tripled from August to September.
If your hours, wait times or booking details are unclear or hard to get by phone, the assistant could come back with a muddled answer. The customer may simply try the next place.
The other lesson is about cost. According to TechCrunch, Smart Lead Reply costs $30 per month, so handing some first-contact work to software may be within reach for a small business. Whether it's worth it depends on how many inquiries you get.
What it means for your business
- Restaurants: Expect "how long is the wait for four?" calls from software. Decide who answers them and how you estimate a wait, so the answer is consistent.
- Salons and spas: Know your open slots and cancellation rules well enough to state them in two sentences. Whether a person or an AI caller asks, a clear answer helps.
- Home services and trades: A tool that replies to new leads and asks the first few questions (job type, address, timing) could catch inquiries that arrive while you're on a roof or under a sink.
- Clinics and retail: Check that your listed hours, holiday closures and phone menus are accurate. A confusing phone menu is hard for any caller, human or software, to get through.
One thing to try this week
Write a one-page "answer sheet" with your hours, typical wait or lead time, how to book, prices people ask about most, and when a human should take over. Then call your own business and see how easily someone could get those answers.
If you later try an AI reply tool, treat it like a new hire. In a Forbes piece, Doron Sitbon of Dot Compliance suggests starting with a small number of high-value uses, writing a short style guide for tone, and building clear paths for handing anything tricky to a person. Your answer sheet is a good first draft of all three.