Square launches AI voice ordering and integrated Bitcoin solution for merchants

Square, Block’s merchant payments platform, has launched new features for merchants, including AI-powered voice ordering for restaurants, improvements to AI assistants — such as providing local insights — and an integrated Bitcoin solution for accepting and holding the digital currency.

The company is now allowing restaurants and cafes that use Square to leverage artificial intelligence to handle incoming calls. This is especially useful for cloud kitchens (delivery-only restaurants) and other delivery-focused establishments, as they can hand off take-out orders, customization, and other menu-related questions to AI. The bot can handle requests like, “What’s special on your menu today?” Or “Make my food spicy, but don’t use any dairy.”

Other companies like howling and Kiais building voice AI solutions for restaurants. Square said its solution stands out because it’s integrated with the payment ecosystem and kiosks, making it easier for restaurants to manage orders.

Square is also adding a Grubhub integration to simplify third-party delivery orders, a redesigned kiosk interface to make frequently used menus easier to access, 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 launched earlier this year in open beta. The bot can now provide local insights, such as weather, nearby events, and industry trends.

While Assistant can already create visualizations for merchants based on their data and queries, Square now allows them to save them as widgets that automatically update on their dashboards.

Furthermore, Square is offering new features like access to conversation history using 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 a portion of their daily earnings into Bitcoin last year. The company now offers a complete Bitcoin solution for sellers, including a wallet.

By encouraging Bitcoin adoption, the company will allow businesses to accept the digital currency directly from their POS devices without any processing fees for one year. In 2027, the company will start charging a 1% processing fee.

The company also offers an integrated Square Bitcoin wallet with the ability to buy, sell, hold, and withdraw cryptocurrency directly from the dashboard.

Last year, Square allowed retailers to convert 1% to 10% of their daily profits into Bitcoin. With the introduction of Square Bitcoin, merchants can choose to transfer 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 more than $17 million at the time of writing.

“The Bitcoin tools we’re building at Square meet 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 Sutter, head of Bitcoin products 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 have, until now, been exclusive to the largest companies. Through Square and Cash App, we serve both sides of the counter, meaning Square is uniquely positioned to make everyday Bitcoin money, not just a store of value — while also helping sellers future-proof their operations,” he added.

while Accepts hundreds of online merchants Bitcoin as a payment method makes up a large portion of Bitcoin transactions Still connected To speculative trading. Poll from Electronic marketer It suggests the number of US users using the cryptocurrency as a means of payment will jump to 7.1 million in 2026. Block, which has been bullish on Bitcoin, aims to capitalize on the currency’s increased adoption with new business offerings.