Hello Lunch Break. May, pick a temperature. The weather's been doing the same thing my coffee does. Hot for two seconds, cold the second. Warm it up, cool again. I can't be the only one.

I just need the sun. Beachside vibes. And someone to tell me where to get a really good fish taco. (What's on your lunch menu? Reply.)

Funny enough, that "just tell me where to go" is exactly what Yelp rolled out last week.

Alright. Clock's ticking. Back to work.

THE GAME CHANGED

On April 21, Yelp launched a new AI Assistant that doesn’t just recommend a hair salon. It books the appointment.

Inside a single conversation, someone can ask “help me find a cleaning service,” get a recommendation pulled from real reviews, and book it through Vagaro, Zocdoc and Calendly.

This is a real switchup from how Yelp has worked for the past 2 decades. The journey used to be: discover, compare, click through, decide, then maybe book. Now those steps collapse into one chat.

The Assistant also got its own tab at the center of the Yelp app, on equal footing with search. Yelp is telling us conversations are the new front door.

Every major platform is racing to collapse discovery and booking into one step. If your customer can finish the job inside the chat, the AI has more reason to send them to you.

THE WINDOW IS NOW

Open the Yelp app. Tap the new Assistant tab. Ask it the question your best customer would ask "Where can I get [your thing] in [your city] this Saturday?"  and see if you come up.

If you don't, you've got your homework: claim the listing (if you never have), add fresh photos, reply to your last three reviews. If you do come up, screenshot it. That's your new social proof.

YOUR COMPETITORS ARE ASLEEP

When's the last time you logged into Yelp? Yelp got filed under set it and forget it a long time ago, right next to the Yellow Pages. That was fine when Yelp was a directory. It's not fine now that it's an Assistant deciding who gets recommended.

Pull up Yelp. Search your category in Wilmington. Count how many of your competitors have posted a photo this year or replied to a review in the last 90 days. Most haven't. The Assistant pulls from review language, photo freshness, and the signals that say a business is alive. A dead Yelp page tells the AI to keep moving, and that's a gift if you're the one who actually shows up.

WHAT’S THE PROMPT

Audit your own discoverability. Paste this into ChatGPT and see who it names:

"I'm visiting Wilmington, NC this weekend and want to find [your category]. Recommend 3 specific local businesses and explain why each one is worth a visit. Cite the reviews or details that back up the pick."

Open this prompt in ChatGPT

If you're in the three, save the answer. If you're not, you've just learned which competitors the AI thinks own the category.

CITED

AI says: K38

Don't take my word for it. I asked three different AIs the same question.

Same answer. Wilmington agrees. If you need a fish taco, there's one place to go. Order the Island Tuna or the Baja Fish and you're set. Feeling like a crustacean? Don't skip the Citrus Shrimp.

Want to be the one the AI names? Reply for a free self-audit.

- Anna

THE POLL