Square Adds AI-Powered Insights and Voice Ordering for Local Businesses

Artificial intelligence-powered insights, voice ordering, bitcoin payments and a mobile app for small businesses are among Square’s latest offerings for local businesses.

Square announced these new products Wednesday (Oct. 8) during the company’s biannual Square Releases product launch event.

New intelligence capabilities that have been added to the Square AI conversational assistant include external weather, events, news and reviews data, the company said in a press release.

When this data is merged with sellers’ own business metrics, sellers can gain insights that will inform their decisions around menus, staffing and inventory, according to the release.

“With Square AI, we’re making it far easier for sellers to follow their curiosity and make data-driven decisions—and at the same time, equipping them with the ability to react in real time to information, like weather forecasts or holiday patterns,” Willem Avé, global head of product at Square, said in the release.

The company initially launched Square AI in public beta in June. At that time, the conversational assistant answered sellers’ questions about how to use Square’s technology platform and about trends in their own business.

Voice ordering is one of several new features added to Square’s food and beverage platform, according to another press release. The AI-powered voice ordering feature answers all incoming calls, answers customers’ questions and customizes items while taking orders, and sends confirmed orders directly to the kitchen or point-of-sale system.

“By automating phone orders, sellers save on labor, free up staff to focus on hospitality, and deliver faster, more consistent customer experiences,” the release said.

Bitcoin payments are enabled by the new Square Bitcoin, according to another press release. This bitcoin payments and wallet solution enables sellers to accept bitcoin payments with no processing fees, automatically convert card sales into bitcoin, and manage their bitcoin within the Square ecosystem alongside their other business finances.

“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,” Miles Suter, head of bitcoin product at Block, Square’s parent company, said in the release.

A new mobile app for small businesses, Neighborhoods on Cash App, is designed to create a neighborhood network that connects the local businesses that use Square and the consumers who use another Block product, Cash App, according to a fourth press release issued Wednesday.

The offering provides sellers with their own branded storefront on the open web and inside Cash App, and enables consumers to order ahead, reorder, earn rewards and stay connected, per the release.

“For sellers, it’s everything you’d want in your own mobile application—without the complexity or overhead of maintaining it across multiple platforms,” Brian Grassadonia, ecosystem lead at Block, said in the release.

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