Square's First Standalone Kiosk Features An AI Ordering Assistant

Square, one of the most ubiquitous names in ordering systems for small businesses and restaurant chains, is launching its first dedicated kiosk hardware with a heavy AI focus. Square revealed its new Square Kiosk for restaurants with a 21.5-inch touch display and a built-in AI assistant that guests can talk to when placing orders. The kiosk can answer questions such as “What are your vegetarian options?” or “Can you show me everything that’s under $10?” Each screen is trained on a restaurant’s specific menu, including a restaurant's popular items and which items go well together. “Now, when you walk up to order from a kiosk, you can actually order in a way that feels really natural and also represents, hopefully, the best of the restaurant as well,” James Schonzeit, head of food and beverage at Square, told ADWEEK. This is Square’s first dedicated kiosk hardware. The company previously sold attachments for iPads to function as kiosks. Square Kiosk is available beginning at $1,999 for companies with a Square Plus or Premium subscription, plus a $99 monthly software fee per device. Initial test partners included California chain Boba Nation Grand and Honolulu-based L&L Hawaiian BBQ. Schonzeit declined to name any major chains that plan on using the kiosks. Square's machine, designed and built in-house, is able to show images and information about the menu, can take payments, and has a barcode scanner. Square said the ability to scan packaged goods is coming soon, adding that it can currently scan gift cards. The kiosk also features “presence detection” using a proximity sensor that welcomes diners as they walk up to the device. Ad-free screens Advertisers wanting to take advantage of the large screens, however, are out of luck. The kiosks will not have ad space available to third parties. Instead, restaurants can promote seasonal specials or top-selling products when customers first arrive at the kiosks. “We want to make sure that this is the restaurant's surface," Schonzeit said. Schonzeit said restaurant owners have been turning to kiosks, including big chains, to achieve efficiency with small teams and rising food costs. “It's for anyone who's just starting out as a mom-and-pop kiosk as well as some of the biggest chains that are out there,” Schonzeit said.”It’s really meant to actually work across that spectrum and uplevel the brand experience for whoever is using it, no matter what environment they're in.” Square wanted to make a kiosk that wasn’t a static digital menu board—that guides customers through the ordering process with the ability to ask questions about the menu. “What we've seen as we've talked to folks in the industry and operators over the years, as they put kiosks out there, it's sort of like they're almost a bit of a necessary evil. It’s like you have to make this trade-off between the guest experience that you want to deliver and efficiency,” Schonzeit said. “The thing that we really zeroed in on is: How can we make sure there doesn't have to be as much of a trade-off there?” Because of the different types and sizes of restaurant environments, Square aimed for a softer, more approachable form. “The scale of it is quite a big screen, but it's not so large that you're, like, working and touching a giant billboard,” he said. “We wanted to have something that fits into that, feels human scale, that you can walk up to it—and that your entire order isn't going to be blasted out to the entire restaurant—but still feels approachable and fits into the size of a small restaurant, too.”

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Square's First Standalone Kiosk Features An AI Ordering Assistant

But don't expect to see any ads on the screens

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