Your next restaurant order might come from ChatGPT instead of DoorDash

If you run a restaurant using Square, your business may soon start getting customers from a place you probably never expected… ChatGPT and Claude.

You see, Square announced new integrations with both AI platforms that allow eligible sellers to be discovered during conversations with customers looking for food, products, or services. In some cases, those customers can move beyond discovery and actually place an order without ever leaving the AI chat.

That might sound futuristic, but it is already rolling out for eligible food and beverage businesses in the United States that use Square Online Ordering.

The idea is simple. Instead of opening Google, Yelp, DoorDash, or Uber Eats, a customer could ask ChatGPT for the best coffee shop nearby or where to order lunch. If the business uses Square and participates in the program, the AI can surface menu information, hours, and ordering options directly inside the conversation.

For merchants, the most interesting part may be what they do not have to do. There is no API to configure, no plugin to install, and no additional marketplace commission to pay. According to Square, eligible sellers are automatically enrolled and can manage their AI visibility through the existing Square Dashboard.

Orders placed through these AI channels still flow through Square’s existing systems, including point of sale hardware and kitchen display systems. Sellers can also see where orders originated, making it easier to determine whether AI discovery is actually driving business.

Square says ChatGPT and Claude are only the beginning. The company is also working with Amazon to bring sellers into Alexa+ experiences as it prepares for a future where AI assistants become shopping destinations rather than simply recommendation engines.

That may be the bigger story here, folks.

For years, businesses fought for visibility on Google Search, Google Maps, Facebook, Instagram, and delivery marketplaces. Now another discovery layer is emerging, and this one speaks in complete sentences instead of blue links.

Whether consumers fully embrace ordering dinner through an AI assistant remains to be seen, but Square clearly believes the shift is coming. The company would rather have its sellers ready before everyone else realizes the rules are changing.

If Square is right, the next battle for local commerce may not be fought on search engines or delivery apps at all… it may happen inside a chat window.

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Brian Fagioli

Technology journalist and founder of NERDS.xyz

Brian Fagioli is a technology journalist and founder of NERDS.xyz. A former BetaNews writer, he has spent over a decade covering Linux, hardware, software, cybersecurity, and AI with a no nonsense approach for real nerds.

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