Yelp Host Voice AI Adds OpenTable Reservations and Takeout Ordering for Restaurants

Key Updates:

• Yelp Host now integrates with OpenTable to automatically handle reservation calls - guests can book, modify, and cancel reservations by phone 24/7 - no manual entry or staff time required.
• Voice AI-powered food ordering now lets restaurants take phone orders for pickup through Yelp Host, with full menu integration, orders entered directly into POS systems, and flexible payment options -- expanding Yelp Host's capabilities to address the needs of non-table-service restaurants for the first time.
• With 16 new languages, custom voice options, and better reporting, Yelp Host is now easier to set up, personalize, and enhance over time.

At Yelp, our mission has always been to connect people with great local businesses - but on a busy Friday night, those connections can be missed when restaurant staff are focused on serving diners. As part of our broader strategy to deliver AI tools that help businesses grow and operate more efficiently, last October we introduced Yelp Host, an AI-powered phone answering service that handles calls so front-of-house staff can focus on delivering the best dining experience.

Today, we're announcing that Yelp Host has hit a major milestone: more than 1 million calls handled - the equivalent of nearly 2 years of phone conversations - an average growth of 38% month-over-month since launching in October 2025 (as of June 2026). For busy restaurants, Yelp Host is saving front-of-house staff up to 14 hours a week. On Mother's Day weekend alone, Yelp Host handled more than 40,000 calls across the platform, keeping restaurants connected to guests during one of the busiest weekends of the year. Restaurants are rapidly adopting Yelp Host because it delivers where it matters most: never missing a customer.

Building on this momentum, we're introducing more than a dozen new updates to Yelp Host, including a new integration with OpenTable, native food ordering for pickup orders, new voice customization options, and 16 new languages to better serve more diners.

Yelp Host and OpenTable are turning reservation calls into confirmed bookings

Yelp Host now integrates with OpenTable, bringing AI-powered phone reservation management to OpenTable's network of restaurants in the US and Canada. Guests can book, modify, and cancel reservations by phone through Yelp Host, and every reservation syncs automatically to OpenTable in real time-no manual entry, no missed bookings, no staff time required. It's the same intuitive booking experience diners expect online, now available over the phone 24/7.

In this video, Yelp Host seamlessly handles a diner's phone reservation inquiry.

Introducing AI-powered food ordering

Taking a phone food order during a dinner rush means pulling a staff member away from the floor - handling modifications, special instructions, and payment - while in-person guests wait. Now, Yelp Host handles food ordering so your restaurant can accept every takeout order through the AI-powered voice agent, without staff ever picking up the phone. This also means Yelp Host is now available to non-table-service restaurants for the first time, opening the door to a vast new market of quick-service, fast-casual, and takeout-focused restaurants looking to fully automate their phone operations.

Through restaurant integration platform Stream, Yelp Host now connects with your existing POS, whether you use Toast, Square, Clover, or others, pulling in your full menu so it can take orders conversationally. The agent handles item selection, modifications, special instructions, and menu questions for immediate or scheduled orders. It also manages payment based on your preference: customers can either pay at pickup, or receive an SMS payment link to prepay. Once the order is confirmed, it automatically flows into your POS system and kitchen display, with no manual entry required.

You can configure takeout hours, pause ordering when needed, toggle individual items on or off, and set optional order size limits - all through Stream, accessible via Yelp's Business Owner App. Coming this summer, Yelp Host will also support food upselling and expanded payment settings, giving restaurants even more customizable options. And unlike third-party delivery platforms, there are no commission fees on orders.

In this video, a diner places a pickup order and Yelp Host, powered by Yelp's new native food ordering integration, gathers all the details to confirm the order.

A more personalized Yelp Host to fit restaurant needs

The best guest experiences feel personal, not scripted. Now, Yelp Host offers more ways to make every call feel authentically yours, with expanded language support and voice customization. We've added 16 new languages since launch, including Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Hindi, Polish, Russian, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, and Turkish. The AI automatically detects a caller's language and responds accordingly, ensuring no guest is missed due to a language barrier.

We've also expanded our customization options with 8 new voices featuring different accents and tones, so you can choose the best match for your restaurant, with more coming soon. If you want something entirely unique, Yelp Host also supports custom voices created specifically for your restaurant, so the voice every caller hears distinctly matches your brand. In addition, the enhanced AI sounds even more natural, creating smoother conversations that deliver a high-quality experience to every caller.

Restaurants can now also configure multiple handoff numbers, routing different types of inquiries to the right team automatically. Whether it's a vendor call going to management or an event inquiry going straight to your events coordinator, every caller reaches the right person without staff having to manually redirect calls.

We know fully booked online doesn't always mean fully booked. To help restaurants handle even more reservations, Yelp Host can now draw on both online and in-house availability, accepting reservations through Yelp even when a restaurant appears fully booked online - capturing more bookings that would otherwise be missed. We've also increased Yelp Reservations party size limits so your restaurant can accommodate more large-party bookings that wouldn't otherwise be available online.

"Guests have walked up to us in the restaurant to compliment the way their call was handled. That's not something I expected when we signed up for an AI answering service." - John Gabriel, Owner, The Metropolitan American Diner & Bar

A new integration with OpenTable (pictured left) and new custom voice options (pictured right) help restaurants operate more efficiently.

Managing Yelp Host just got simpler

We're making it easier to manage and optimize Yelp Host with enhanced analytics and reporting, and an even more seamless setup process. New reporting tools surface call evaluation metrics, after-hours call volume, reservation conversion rates, food order volumes, and concurrent call handling - giving operators the data they need to continuously improve front-of-house performance. We've also simplified the online setup process so you can get Yelp Host up and running more quickly, directly from your Yelp for Business account.

In the coming months, a dynamic new analytics dashboard in the Business Owner App will show the efficiency Yelp Host is driving for your restaurant and surface actionable ways to improve performance over time.

Yelp Host starts at $249 per month ($199 per month for Yelp Guest Manager customers); see full pricing and terms. Restaurants can learn more and sign up in the "Yelp Host" tab when logged into their Yelp for Business account and from the Yelp Host site.

We know that missed calls mean missed revenue, and every minute on the phone is missed time with guests. With AI phone answering for reservations, waitlist, and takeout, Yelp Host gives every type of restaurant the tools to run a smarter operation and keep diners coming back. Through our ongoing investment in advanced AI, Yelp Host will continue to get smarter and more capable over time - and today's updates are just the first of several integrations and features planned. It's all part of Yelp's broader commitment to building AI that works on behalf of businesses, so the people running them can focus on what matters most: their guests.

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