Square launched a ChatGPT app and Claude plugin that lets hungry consumers discover restaurants and place orders directly inside the AI chatbots, with eligible U.S. food-and-beverage sellers auto-opted in and no setup or new APIs required.
The system pulls a restaurant’s menu, pricing, inventory, and modifiers (like “extra BBQ sauce”) live from Square, so that agents never show out-of-stock options, and routes orders into the merchant’s existing POS terminal and kitchen display.
Even better for restaurants, Square doesn’t charge any marketplace commission on these AI orders, only its standard online processing fee of roughly 2.9% plus 30 cents, versus the 15% to 30% cuts DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub take. For orders needing delivery, Square uses a white-label courier network charging a flat $7 to $10 fee rather than a percentage of the basket, which typically comes out better for restaurants and/or is an easier cost to absorb for customers.
Here’s how it works:
- A customer prompts ChatGPT or Claude with a query like, “Find me a Jewish deli nearby with a Reuben sandwich and chopped liver.”
- They can then browse results, make their selection, and finalize the purchase using Order by Cash App, without leaving the chat interface.
- The order then routes to the restaurant’s systems, same as if it were made in-store or on their website. However, the order is clearly tagged as AI-originated.
Great idea, Square! The fees from delivery apps have gotten completely out of hand — with drivers not seeing enough of the upside, but that’s a different story. Any move that puts margin back into the hands of restaurant operators is a win in my book.
