When a customer sends you a message on Yelp, they’re also messaging 3–5 other businesses. The one who responds first — with a helpful, personalized reply — wins the job the vast majority of the time.

The problem is you’re usually on a job site, driving, or asleep when those messages come in. A Yelp auto responder solves this by replying instantly, 24/7, with messages that sound like you wrote them yourself.

This guide walks you through setting up LeadWinner AI as your Yelp auto responder — from connecting your account to going live. The whole process takes about 2 minutes.

What You’ll Need

A Yelp business account with messaging enabled
A LeadWinner AI account (sign up free here)

That’s it. No API keys, no developer tools, no IT department.

Step 1: Connect Your Yelp Account

After signing up, you’ll land on the Sources page in your LeadWinner dashboard. This is where you connect your lead platforms.

Click “Add a New Yelp Biz Account”
In the modal that appears, click “Add an account from Yelp”
A new tab opens with a Yelp authorization page
Log in to your Yelp business account and approve the integration
You’ll be redirected back — your Yelp business is now connected

If you’re setting up LeadWinner for a client or business partner, you can copy the authorization link and send it to the Yelp account owner. They just need to click the link and approve — they never share their password with you.

Step 2: Run Through the Quick Start Wizard

Once your Yelp account is connected, LeadWinner walks you through a Quick Start Wizard that configures the essentials:

Notifications

Choose how you want to be notified about new leads:

SMS notifications — get a text when a new Yelp lead comes in
Email notifications — receive lead details in your inbox

Enter the phone number and email address where you want alerts sent.

2-Way Auto-Dial (Recommended)

This is one of the most powerful features. When enabled, LeadWinner calls your phone the moment a new Yelp lead comes in. You pick up, hear the lead details, press 1, and you’re instantly connected to the customer.

To set it up:

Toggle “Enable 2-Way Auto-Dial” on
Enter the phone number where you want to receive the calls
Click “Verify” — you’ll get a call from the system
Enter the verification code shown on screen

Important for Yelp: The auto-dial call happens once the customer shares their phone number in the conversation. Yelp doesn’t provide phone numbers from the initial request, so the AI is trained to ask for it naturally during the conversation.

Activation

The final step in the wizard is activating your business. Toggle it on, and LeadWinner starts monitoring your Yelp inbox immediately.

Step 3: Customize Your AI Messages

After the wizard, head to Settings (click the gear icon next to your business) to fine-tune how the AI responds.

Welcome Message (AI Instruction)

This is the instruction that tells the AI how to craft its first reply. You can use any placeholders you want — like {customer name}, {their request}, or anything else. There’s no fixed syntax. ChatGPT will interpret whatever you write and figure out what it means from context, just like a human reading your instructions would.

The default template is already optimized for conversions: it greets the customer by name, acknowledges their specific request, highlights your business, includes a call-to-action, and asks a qualifying question.

Here’s what makes LeadWinner’s AI different: everything is powered by ChatGPT. All lead information is passed to ChatGPT, and all decisions — what to say, how to say it, whether to qualify or decline — are made by it. This means your prompt isn’t a rigid template. You can write instructions the same way you’d brief a new employee you just hired: “If someone asks about pricing, give them a range. If they mention an emergency, offer same-day service. If the job is outside our area, politely decline and suggest they search locally.” The AI understands context, nuance, and conditional logic — just like a person would.

Services Not Offered

List the services you don’t provide. When a customer asks for something on this list, the AI will politely decline instead of making promises you can’t keep. This saves you time and keeps your response quality high.

Follow-Up Messages

Configure what happens when a customer doesn’t reply to the initial message:

Follow-up 1 (after 10 minutes): Ask for their phone number
Follow-up 2 (after 1 hour): Re-engage with a different angle
Follow-up 3 (after 24 hours): Final check-in

You can customize the timing and message for each follow-up, add more, or remove them entirely. Up to 10 follow-ups are supported.

Step 4: Fine-Tune Advanced Settings

Under the Advanced tab, you’ll find options for power users:

Response delay — add a short delay before responding (some businesses prefer not to reply in literally 10 seconds)
Non-reply hours — schedule times when the bot shouldn’t respond (e.g., if you want to handle leads manually during work hours)
Continue conversation — let the AI keep chatting with the customer after the first message, handling their questions back-and-forth

What Happens When a Lead Comes In

Here’s the flow once everything is set up:

A customer messages your Yelp business — “I need a plumber to fix a leaky faucet”
LeadWinner detects the message within seconds
The AI reads the message, checks your business profile and settings
A personalized reply goes out through Yelp messaging in about 10 seconds
If the AI determines the lead is a good fit for your business, you get an SMS/email notification with the lead details
If 2-way auto-dial is on and the customer shares their number, your phone rings — press 1 and you’re talking to the customer live
If the customer doesn’t reply, follow-ups fire automatically on your schedule

The customer thinks they’re talking to you. Your competitors are still reading the notification.

Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Yelp Auto Responder

Be specific in your AI instructions. The more context you give the AI about your business — services, pricing, service area, availability — the better its responses will be.

Enable 2-way auto-dial. Businesses that use auto-dial close significantly more deals because they speak to the customer while the request is still fresh.

Don’t skip follow-ups. A large percentage of leads that ignore the first message will respond to a well-timed follow-up. Three follow-ups over 24 hours is a good starting point.

Review and adjust. Check your dashboard regularly for the first week. If you notice the AI saying something you’d phrase differently, update your instructions. The AI learns from your configuration instantly.

Ready to Start?

Setting up a Yelp auto responder with LeadWinner takes less time than reading this guide. Start your free 7-day trial — live in 2 minutes.

If you need help setting up, call us at (415) 604-0279 or email us. We offer free setup assistance for every new account.