YelpOut

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  YelpOut Light

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  YelpOut Dark

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  How it works?

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  Let's plan something!

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  YelpOut Itinerary

Inspiration

The idea for YelpOut came from a very real and personal need. I’m often the person in my family or friend group who ends up answering the question: “Where should we go?” Whether it’s planning a family outing, celebrating a birthday, organizing a date night, or just meeting friends nearby, finding the right place can take hours. I’ve lost count of how many times I opened multiple tabs, searched maps, read reviews, compared distances, checked prices, and still felt unsure. Over time, Yelp became my go-to tool for discovering great local places, especially hidden gems that aren’t easy to find through simple searches. That experience inspired me to ask a simple question: What if planning an outing could feel as easy as having a conversation?

That question became YelpOut.

What it does

YelpOut is a conversational, AI-powered planner that helps users create complete outing plans, from the initial idea to a personalized itinerary, Yelp-powered.

Instead of manually searching, users simply chat with YelpOut and describe:

what they want to celebrate, who’s attending (family, kids, couples, pets), where they are, how much time they have, and what kind of experience they want.

YelpOut then builds a multi-stop plan—activities, restaurants, cafés, desserts, or nightlife—tailored to the occasion, schedule, and preferences, all based on real business data from Yelp.

How we built it

YelpOut was built as a Next.js and TypeScript web application with a strong focus on user experience and conversation flow.

Key aspects of the build include:

A chat-first interface inspired by natural conversation, similar to ChatGPT Interactive cards and chips to reduce typing and guide decisions Deep integration with the Yelp API as the primary data source

Challenges we ran into

One of the biggest challenges was designing a conversation that asks just enough questions without overwhelming the user. Not everyone wants to type long messages, so balancing free-text input with guided choices was critical. Another challenge was making smart assumptions—like adjusting recommendations when kids or pets are involved, or changing the flow depending on whether the plan is for a couple, a family, or a group of friends. Through this project, I learned how important conversation design is when building AI-powered experiences. I also gained a deeper appreciation for how powerful Yelp’s local data can be.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Built a fully functional chat-first planning experience that feels natural and easy to use. Successfully leveraged Yelp-powered local business data as the core of the recommendation engine. Implemented context-aware planning, adapting suggestions based on time, group type (couples, families, kids, pets), budget, and mood. Generated complete, multi-stop itineraries instead of isolated recommendations. Delivered a polished, responsive UI that works seamlessly on both desktop and mobile devices.

What we learned

Conversation design is just as important as the AI or data behind it—asking the right questions makes all the difference. Local discovery becomes far more powerful when data is contextualized into real-world plans instead of simple search results. Even small UX decisions, like when to ask a question or offer a shortcut, have a major impact on the overall experience.

What's next for YelpOut

YelpOut started as a hackathon project, but it represents something bigger, a more natural, stress-free way to discover and enjoy local experiences. I'll be certainly using it for every outing I'll have in the future, so wait for more features!

Built With

• next.js
• typescript