Yelp, the popular online review platform, has announced the rollout of its AI-powered "Review Insights" feature, designed to help users discover new establishments and narrow down customer reviews more efficiently. This new feature is part of Yelp's end-of-year product release and aims to provide users with a more personalized and informative experience.

The Review Insights feature utilizes aggregated sentiment scores to provide a quick overview of various aspects of a business, such as food quality, service, ambiance, and wait times. These scores are displayed above a business's reviews using facial icons, indicating positive, neutral, or critical sentiments. Users can click on specific topics to read related reviews that focus on those aspects of the business, allowing for a more targeted and relevant search experience.

According to Yelp's Chief Product Officer, Craig Saldanha, the Review Insights feature is designed to cater to users who have specific aspects in mind when searching for a local restaurant or business. The feature builds upon Yelp's AI-powered review summaries feature, which was introduced in January. Saldanha explained that the AI technology, known as a Large Language Model (LLM), understands the context of reviews to identify and surface relevant topics and sentiments, even if they are not explicitly mentioned.

In addition to the Review Insights feature, Yelp has also announced other updates to its iOS app. The home feed search bar now features a trending drop-down that highlights the most popular terms other local users are looking for. This feature will be available on Android devices "early next year." Furthermore, the iOS app home page has been expanded to include new reviews, photos, and full-screen video spotlights uploaded by other users, showcasing recent experiences. Yelp plans to roll out an AI-powered update that "better tailors the home feed to your preferences" in the coming weeks.

One notable change to the iOS app is the autoplay and unmute feature for full-screen user videos on the homepage. While this may enhance the user experience, it may also be seen as a potential distraction or annoyance for some users.

The introduction of Review Insights and other updates to Yelp's iOS app demonstrates the company's commitment to leveraging AI technology to improve the user experience. By providing users with more targeted and relevant information, Yelp aims to maintain its position as a leading online review platform in the competitive tech industry.

As the online review landscape continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how Yelp's AI-powered features impact user behavior and business outcomes. With the expansion of Review Insights to services categories "next year," Yelp is poised to further solidify its position as a go-to platform for users seeking trusted and informative reviews.