Square, Block’s merchant payments platform, has launched new features for merchants, including AI-powered voice ordering for restaurants, enhancements to its AI assistants — such as providing local insights — and an integrated Bitcoin solution to accept and hold the digital currency.
The company now lets restaurants and cafes using Square leverage AI to handle incoming calls. This is particularly useful for cloud kitchens (delivery-only restaurants) and other delivery-focused establishments, as they can hand off order taking, customization, and other menu-related questions to AI. The bot can handle requests like, “What is special in your menu today?” or “Make my food spicy, but don’t use any dairy.”
Other companies, such as Yelp and Kea, are building voice AI solutions for restaurants. Square said its solution stands out because it’s integrated with its payment and kiosk ecosystem, making it easier for restaurants to manage orders.
Square is also adding Grubhub integration to streamline third-party delivery orders, a redesigned kiosk interface for easier access to frequently used menus, and an AI-powered inventory management tool to help restaurants manage and optimize supplies.
The point-of-sale company is also adding new features to its Square AI assistant, which was launched earlier this year in open beta. The bot can now provide local insights, such as weather, nearby events, and industry trends.
While the assistant could already create visualizations for merchants based on their data and queries, Square now allows them to save these as auto-updating widgets on their dashboards.
What’s more, Square is bringing new features such as access to conversation history with Square AI and a dashboard on its mobile app for merchants.
Bitcoin integration
Block co-founder Jack Dorsey’s affinity for Bitcoin is well-known. Square began allowing merchants to convert part of their daily earnings into Bitcoin last year. The company is now introducing an integrated Bitcoin solution for sellers, including a wallet.
In encourage Bitcoin adoption, the company will allow businesses to accept the digital currency directly from their point-of-sale machines with no processing fee for one year. In 2027, the company will start charging a 1% processing fee.
The company is also introducing an integrated Square Bitcoin wallet with the ability to buy, sell, hold, and withdraw the cryptocurrency directly from the dashboard.
Last year, Square allowed retailers to convert 1% to -10% of their daily earnings to Bitcoin. With the introduction of Square Bitcoin, merchants can choose to convert up to 50% of their daily revenue. The company noted that since the start of the program, users have accumulated 142 Bitcoins, which amounts to over $17 million at the time of writing.
“The Bitcoin tools we’re building at Square deliver on two critical needs: ensuring sellers never miss a sale, and giving them access to powerful financial tools that help them more easily manage and grow their finances,” Miles Suter, Head of Bitcoin Product at Block, said in a statement.
“We’re making Bitcoin payments as seamless as card payments while giving small businesses access to financial management tools that, until now, have been exclusive to the largest corporations. Through Square and Cash App, we serve both sides of the counter, meaning Square is uniquely positioned to make Bitcoin everyday money, not just a store of value – while also helping sellers future-proof their operations,” he added.
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