Yelp’s CEO, Jeremy Stoppelman, recently weighed in on Google’s long-standing monopoly, highlighting the distinction between general and vertical search engines. Yelp, for instance, specializes as a vertical search engine, focusing narrowly on areas like restaurant reviews and local businesses, unlike Google’s broad scope.

Back in 2011, Google acquired Zagat, a strategic move that showcased its intention to dominate not just general search but also specific verticals such as restaurant reviews. This acquisition was part of Google’s broader strategy to keep users within its ecosystem by providing extensive information directly on its properties. For example, Google’s “zero-search” approach enables users to see restaurant menus, reviews, and other details directly on Google, reducing the need to visit vertical search engines like Yelp or the actual restaurant websites.

With the rise of AI-driven search tools like OpenAI’s SearchGPT and PerplexityAI, which aim to directly answer users’ queries, traditional search engines like Google could face real competition. This shifts the landscape for specialized platforms like Yelp. Should Yelp build higher walls around its content and profit from licensing its data, much like it does with Apple Maps?