Online business review forum Yelp has added more (artificial intelligence) AI-powered search tools. “For years, we’ve leveraged AI to help reduce consumers’ decision paralysis — from spotlighting the most popular dishes and drinks, to using LLMs (large language models) to power review highlights for more nuanced searches,” the company said Tuesday (Jan. 30) in a news release. “Now, new AI-powered business summaries leverage LLMs to parse recent reviews and describe what you can expect at the business, helping you quickly find a business that fits your needs at a glance,” the company ..read more

Yelp Inc. has delivered a record-breaking performance for its second quarter results released Thursday (Aug. 3).  According to their earnings report, the online business reviews company saw their net revenue increase by 13% year over year in the second quarter to reach a high of $337 million. It was $7 million more than the company’s second-quarter outlook range and was propelled mostly by advertising revenue growth in the quarter ending June 30. In the earnings call with analysts, Jeremy Stoppelman, Yelp’s co-founder and chief executive officer, said that “Yelp’s record-br ..read more

Dental supply provider Torch Dental announced a $28 million Series B round with the goal to digitize the billion-dollar dental supply chain. Bringing its total funding to $40 million, the new investment will help dental practices across the United States streamline and digitize their supply order and back-office operations, moving away from the manual process of buying and tracking dental supplies with limited price transparency. “We’re motivated to help dentists discover, order and pay for everything they need to run their practice. It’s rare to find an opportunity to accelerate the ..read more

In the battle over business listings, Apple is going head-to-head with Google and Yelp. But the new Apple business tool, announced Wednesday (Jan. 11) — free though it is — may have a disadvantage right out of the gate. As reported, the new Business Connect feature lets small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) edit their listings that are displayed over Apple’s various online apps — with that edited, customizable information appearing, for example, in Siri or in the tech giant’s wallet. We note that the January announcement represents a tweaking of the Apple Maps, and in terms of the mechanic ..read more

This week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the crypto community have been sending warnings to each other: the SEC chair said there was a risk that most crypto assets “are likely to fail,” while Ripple’s general counsel said enforcement actions by the regulator were made with “intents to bully, bulldoze and bankrupt crypto innovation.” Additionally, U.S. lawmakers are pressing ahead with legislation that would propose the screening of investments in countries seen as adversaries, like China, to protect U.S. technology. Spotify, Yelp and other tech companies are urging Congress ..read more

Several companies and business groups, including Spotify and Yelp, have written to U.S. senators imploring them to pass a bill that would curb the power of Big Tech firms such as Amazon, Apple, Google and Meta. As Reuters reported Monday (June 13), Sen. Amy Klobuchar and other legislators from both sides of the aisle said they have the votes to approve the bill, which would bar tech companies from favoring their own businesses on their platforms. As PYMNTS noted earlier this month, a vote on the proposal — which was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee in January and the House in 2021 ..read more

Today in restaurant and grocery tech news, Deliveroo partners with major U.K. grocery chain Morrisons to develop an ultra-fast grocery delivery service, while back in the United States, Giant announced its own rapid delivery option. Plus, Jane McPherson, senior vice president of marketing at Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop, speaks with PYMNTS about how data analytics and cross-channel outreach are helping the chain personalize its customer offerings. A Serving of Data Analytics Helps Personalize Rewards, Drive Redemption at Capriotti's  In the September/October edition of the Order to Eat ..read more

With the digital proliferation of the past couple of years, restaurants are growing frustrated with the tangle of incompatible software solutions aiming to make the process of running an eatery easier, leaving an opportunity for providers who can offer a way to unify these disparate processes. Noting this opportunity, Yelp announced Wednesday (Sept. 29) that it is launching Yelp Guest Manager, which consolidates front-of-house tools into a single product. “At Yelp, we recognize that restaurants need a partner that helps streamline operations, allowing staff to focus on serving their diners and ..read more

After launching several major partnerships and initiatives to expand its delivery service well beyond the restaurant meals that initially established the business, DoorDash is now making moves to drive consumers toward its other offerings. On Thursday (Aug. 5), the company announced in a blog post the launch of DoubleDash, a feature that allows customers to add items from a selection of merchants to their restaurant order for no additional cost. “We began to meaningfully lay the groundwork last year to move beyond restaurant delivery into new categories including convenience, grocery, retail ..read more

Yelp’s new “Yelp Audiences” platform will help advertisers target consumers around the web, according to a press release. “Yelp Audiences offers an opportunity for location-based, direct-to-consumer, consumer packaged goods, and online advertisers to reach Yelp’s high-intent audience at all stages of the buying cycle,” the release stated. Yelp has rolled out the new product with the help of KitchenAid after pilots were successful with food technology company Eat Just and comfort technology company Purple, according to the release. With Yelp Audiences, the popular restaurant reviewing plat ..read more