Yelp remains committed to connecting people with the businesses that best fit their individual needs and preferences, including introducing eco-friendly attributes for people looking to patronize establishments that prioritize sustainability, and allowing businesses to indicate whether they are open to all or have gender-neutral restrooms, important for consumers who want to feel safe and welcome.
While “wheelchair accessible” is one of the most popular attributes on Yelp business pages, we recognize that the accessibility needs of the more than 42 million Americans with disabilities vary. To better serve our community, ahead of Disability Pride Month in July, Yelp has partnered 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 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 the visually impaired, including AI-powered alt text for photos to improve the experience for people using screen readers. Additionally, we’ve created a new accessibility resource hub for businesses, which provides information and tools to help business owners implement and learn more about inclusive practices for customers with disabilities.
Further introduction of accessibility business attributes
Yelp users are increasingly looking for businesses that accommodate their accessibility needs, with searches for “wheelchair accessible” growing an average of 40% from 2020 to 2023. To better meet this growing need, today we are introducing eight new business attributes that address specific accessibility needs and provide users with reliable, helpful information before visiting a business.
In addition to the existing wheelchair accessibility attribute, consumers can now identify businesses that offer accommodations that address the following mobility, hearing and vision accessibility needs:
Mobility Accessibility Attributes Handicapped Parking Near Entrance: These businesses must have handicapped parking spaces, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), that allow people with mobility disabilities to easily access the business without having to go far. ADA-Compliant Main Entrance: As per ADA standards, these businesses must have entrances without ramps, elevators, or steps or stairs, and doors with an opening width of at least 32 inches when the door is opened 90 degrees. ADA-Compliant Restrooms: As per ADA definition, these businesses must have restrooms with accessible aisles, grab bars, turning space of at least 60 inches in diameter, and dispensers no higher than a maximum height of 48 inches. No Steps or Stairs: These businesses have no steps or stairs at the entrance or within the business itself. Hearing Accessibility Attributes ASL Fluent: These businesses have at least one ASL-fluent staff member available to serve customers during business hours. Closed Captioning on Television: These restaurant, food, and nightlife businesses offer closed captioning on at least one television in their establishment. Vision Accessibility Attributes Braille Menus Available: These restaurant, food, and nightlife businesses offer Braille menus upon customer request. QR Code Menus Available: These restaurant, food, and nightlife businesses offer customers the option to access menus using a QR code, allowing people with visual impairments to access the information on their device to enlarge the content or use assistive technology such as a screen reader.
To find businesses that accommodate these accessibility needs, customers can simply search for phrases like “wheelchair accessible,” “ASL accessible,” “Braille menu,” or “QR code menu” to see businesses that employ the relevant attributes. These attributes will also appear on the business’s page in a new “Accessibility” section within the business’s amenities.
“Too often, people with disabilities lack access to information to find businesses and services that are available to them,” said Calla Devlin, managing director of Open to All. “Yelp’s new set of attributes is an invaluable tool for customers, and Open to All provides resources and guidance to help businesses create a welcoming and safe environment for all customers. We’re thrilled to partner with Yelp again to help businesses create a world that is truly open to everyone.”
Business owners can add these attributes to their Yelp page for free by logging into their Yelp for Business account and editing the “Business Information” section, and we’re also surveying consumers about these attributes through “Update Your Community” questions on Yelp business pages.
Using AI to make Yelp more accessible for visually impaired users
To make Yelp more inclusive, user-friendly, and accessible, we’re rolling out new improvements across our apps and website to better support people with visual impairments, including AI-powered alt text descriptions for photos, improved color contrast, and other enhanced screen reader features.
Without captions, people who rely on screen readers to interpret web content can miss out on context and details in photos. To bridge this gap, we are now leveraging large-scale language models (LLMs) to automatically generate descriptive alt text for images for screen readers on restaurant, bar, and nightlife business pages. Whether it’s a restaurant’s most popular menu item or a bar’s signature cocktail, AI-powered alt text descriptions make this information accessible to more users when deciding which local business to try next. AI-powered alt text descriptions are available on desktop today and will be rolled out to all platforms and categories in the future.
Additionally, we’ve made improvements to the overall screen reader experience, including improved navigation across the platform, and improved color contrast to make content easier to read for users with low vision or color blindness.
We’ve been working to enhance the accessibility of our platform, and as we continually evolve Yelp to improve the experience for consumers and businesses, we remain committed to ensuring accessibility for all users through our dedicated accessibility design team.
Supporting inclusive business
Embracing inclusive practices to address diverse accessibility needs provides significant benefits to individuals with disabilities. There are several ways to improve accessibility, some of which are relatively simple for business owners, such as updating signage or adding QR code menus. To help business owners create more inclusive spaces, Yelp’s new Accessibility Resource Hub provides valuable information and tools from disability inclusion leaders, including the 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 inspiring stories from businesses that are committed to creating accessible environments for all.
Yelp’s Commitment to Accessibility and Inclusion
Yelp is committed to providing our employees with an accessible and inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued and supported. Our remote work policies foster an inclusive environment, especially beneficial for individuals with disabilities. According to a 2023 employee survey, 96% of respondents said Yelp promotes an inclusive environment regardless of sexual orientation, race, age, national origin, or disability status. Individuals with disabilities at Yelp can also find support through YelpAbility, an employee resource group created to raise awareness and support employees about accessibility. We remain committed to investing in programs and policies that empower and promote equal opportunities for individuals of all abilities, both within our organization and in the broader communities we serve.
These new attributes and resources are just part of our ongoing efforts to support the disability community, which we plan to continue to prioritize as we focus on improving and maintaining our platform to empower and support individuals of all abilities.
We look forward to continuing our work to create a more accessible and inclusive world for everyone, and we hope you will join us in our efforts.