At Yelp, we remain committed to connecting people with businesses that best address their individual needs and preferences. This includes introducing eco-friendly attributes for those looking to patronize establishments that prioritize sustainability, as well as enabling businesses to indicate if they’re Open to All or if they have gender-neutral restrooms, which are important for consumers who want to feel safe and welcomed.
While “wheelchair accessible” is among the most popular attributes on Yelp business pages, we recognize that accessibility needs vary for the more than 42 million Americans with disabilities. To better serve the community, ahead of Disability Pride Month in July, Yelp has teamed up with disability inclusion leaders Disability:IN, the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), Open to All, and The Arc to introduce new searchable accessibility attributes. These attributes will make it easier for users to find businesses that meet their mobility, hearing, and vision accessibility needs. We’re also rolling out platform updates for people with visual impairments, including AI-powered alternative text for photos to improve the experience for people using screen readers. Additionally, we’ve created a new Accessibility Resource Hub for businesses, which offers information and tools to help business owners implement and learn more about inclusive practices for customers with disabilities.
Introducing more accessibility business attributes
Yelp users are increasingly looking for businesses that accommodate accessibility needs, with “wheelchair accessible” searches rising an average of 40% from 2020 to 2023. To further meet this growing need, today, we are introducing eight new business attributes that cater to specific accessibility needs and provide users with reliable and helpful information before visiting a business.
In addition to our existing wheelchair accessible attribute, consumers can now identify businesses that provide accommodations for the following mobility, hearing and vision accessibility needs.
Mobility Accessibility Attributes
- Accessible parking near entrance: These businesses must have accessible parking spaces, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), that allow individuals with mobility disabilities to easily access the business without needing to go a significant distance.
- ADA-compliant main entrance: According to ADA standards, these businesses must have a ramp, elevators, or no steps/stairs at their entrance, as well as a door with a clear opening width of at least 32 inches when the door is opened to 90 degrees.
- ADA-compliant restroom: As defined by the ADA, restrooms at these businesses must have an accessible path, grab bars, turning space of at least 60 inches in diameter, and dispensers that don’t exceed a maximum height of 48 inches.
- No steps or stairs: These businesses do not have steps or stairs at their entrance or inside the business itself.
Hearing Accessibility Attributes
- ASL proficient: These businesses have at least one staff member who is ASL proficient and available to customers during their hours of operation.
- Closed captioning on TVs: These restaurant, food, and nightlife businesses provide closed captioning on at least one TV in their establishment.
Vision Accessibility Attributes
- Braille menus available: These restaurant, food, and nightlife businesses provide Braille menus to customers upon request.
- QR code menus available: These restaurant, food, and nightlife businesses offer diners the option to use a QR code to access their menus. This enables people with visual impairments to access information from their devices, allowing them to enlarge content or use assistive technologies like screen readers.
To find businesses that accommodate these accessibility needs, you can easily search for phrases such as “Wheelchair accessible,” “ASL proficient,” “Braille menus,” and “QR code menus” to surface businesses that have adopted relevant attributes. These attributes can also be found on business pages under a new “Accessibility” section within the business’s amenities.
“Far too often, people with disabilities do not have access to information to find businesses and services that are accessible to them,” said Calla Devlin, managing director of Open to All. “Yelp’s new suite of attributes is an invaluable tool for customers, and Open to All offers resources and guidance for businesses to create welcoming and safe environments for all customers. We’re thrilled to partner again with Yelp to create a world where businesses truly are open to all.”
Business owners can add these attributes to their Yelp page for free by logging in to their Yelp for Business account and editing their “Business Information” section. We’re also surveying consumers about these attributes through the “Update the community” questions on Yelp business pages.
Leveraging AI to enhance the accessibility of Yelp for users with visual impairments
To continue to make Yelp more inclusive, user-friendly, and accessible, we’re rolling out new improvements throughout the app and website to better support people with visual impairments, including AI-powered alternative text descriptions for photos, improved color contrast, and other enhanced screen reader functionality.
Without captions, people who rely on screen readers to interpret web content may miss out on the context and details of a photo. To bridge this gap, we are now leveraging Large Language Models (LLMs) to automatically generate descriptive alternative text for images for screen readers to leverage on restaurants, bars, and nightlife business pages. Whether it’s a restaurant’s most popular menu item or a bar’s signature cocktail, AI-powered alternative text descriptions make this information available to more users as they decide which local businesses to try next. AI-powered alternative text descriptions are available on desktop today and will roll out across all platforms and categories in the future.
Additionally, we’ve enhanced the overall screen reader experience for users, including improved navigation across the platform. We’ve also improved color contrast to help make our content more legible to users with low vision or colorblindness.
While we’ve made progress in enhancing accessibility on our platform, we’re continuously evolving Yelp to improve the experience for consumers and businesses and through our dedicated accessibility design team, our commitment to enabling access to all users is ongoing.
Supporting inclusive businesses
Incorporating inclusive practices to address diverse accessibility needs can significantly benefit individuals with disabilities. There are several ways to improve accessibility, some of which can be relatively easy for business owners, such as updating signage or adding a QR code menu. To support business owners in creating more inclusive spaces, Yelp’s new Accessibility Resource Hub offers valuable information and tools from disability inclusion leaders, including American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), Disability:IN, Open to All, and The Arc. The resource hub includes information on implementing inclusive practices for consumers with disabilities, tips for communicating those efforts, and inspirational first-hand accounts from businesses committed to creating an accessible environment for all.
Yelp’s commitment to accessibility and inclusion
Yelp is committed to providing an accessible and inclusive workplace for our employees where everyone feels valued and supported. Our remote work policy fosters an inclusive environment, which can be particularly beneficial for individuals with disabilities. According to a 2023 employee survey, 96% of respondents stated Yelp promotes an inclusive environment regardless of sexual orientation, race, age, nationality, or disability status. Individuals with disabilities at Yelp can also find support through YelpAbility, our employee resource group created to raise awareness about accessibility and provide support for our employees. We remain committed to investing in programs and policies that empower and foster equal opportunities for individuals of all abilities, both within our organization and for the wider communities we serve.
These new attributes and resources are just part of our ongoing efforts to support the disability community. We look forward to continuing to prioritize this work as we focus on improving and maintaining a platform that empowers and supports individuals of all abilities.
We look forward to continuing our work to create a more accessible and inclusive world for everyone, and hope you’ll join us in our journey.
