Square AI kiosk takes voice orders for $1,999 plus fees
Block's payments unit aims a talking self-service screen at quick-service restaurants short of counter staff. Toast, which sells its own kiosks, lost more than 4.5% on the day.
The Square AI kiosk went on sale in the United States on 14 October: a 21.5-inch self-service screen that takes orders by voice as well as by touch, priced at $1,999 plus monthly fees. Block's payments unit is aiming it at quick-service restaurants, where the counter is the hardest job to staff.
Square calls the software an "agentic" voice layer. It reads the restaurant's own menu, answers questions about allergens or vegetarian options, suggests add-ons based on what sells at that location and time of day, and handles modifications and substitutions. Guests can switch between talking and tapping within the same order. Presence detection greets them as they walk up, and the tech site Glitchwire counts three directional microphones in the housing.
Payment is built in, with tap, chip and a barcode scanner for gift cards. Customers can check in with a Square Loyalty account or a Neighborhoods profile, the local network Square runs with Cash App.
The kiosk is sold on hours saved; who keeps those hours is the franchisee's decision.
What the Square AI kiosk costs in a year
The $1,999 includes a counter stand; other stands cost more. On top come a $99 monthly software fee per device and a Square Plus subscription at $49 per location per month, or Premium at $149, according to Investing.com. One Square AI kiosk on the cheaper plan therefore costs $3,775 in its first year. Glitchwire reports that it is sold only in the US and works only in English.
Square names two test clients. Baltej Sra, chief executive of Boba Nation Grand, says the chain plans to put it in the rest of its locations this year after trials. Lawrence Kam, a multi-unit franchisee of L&L Hawaiian BBQ, says he was "genuinely skeptical of kiosks" and now wants them across the brand's national footprint.
Toast shares fall and the counter question
Toast, which sells its own self-ordering kiosks to restaurants, fell more than 4.5% in midday trading on the day of the launch, Stocktwits reported; the stock was already down 17% this year. Clover and Bite also sell ordering terminals.
The release is plain about why the device exists: "persistent staffing challenges that require restaurants to do more with less". It does not say the kiosk replaces anyone. Square's answer comes from Thomas Templeton, Block's global hardware lead, who says the machine gives "staff the time back to focus on hospitality and the tasks that matter the most".
Margins explain the pitch better than the voice does. Wendy's largest US franchisee filed for Chapter 11 in September after store-level earnings fell 48%, and operators in that position count labour hours. Whether the hours a kiosk saves go to hospitality or off the rota will be decided by each franchisee, not by the machine.
