Can A Voice-AI Kiosk: Win the Next Meal Occasion—or Just Cut the Cost of Taking an Order?

 

The Grocerant Guru® Consumer Test: Will Square’s new voice-AI kiosk make customers more likely to choose a restaurant, spend confidently, and come back—or will it simply help operators take orders with fewer employees?

Square says its new voice-AI kiosk can deliver the speed of self-service without sacrificing the hospitality of a good server. That is the promise. The Grocerant Guru® wants proof.

Here is the consumer test: Will customers order more confidently, discover meals they actually want, spend more wisely, receive better service, and return more often—or will Square simply help restaurants do more with fewer employees?

The survey numbers cited in the announcement should give operators pause. According to Technomic survey data referenced in the press release, 35% of consumers find kiosk ordering unappealing, while 46% say voice AI in the drive-thru is unappealing. Meanwhile, ordering at the counter with an employee remains the most popular method, at 46%.

Those numbers expose the central challenge: Just because technology can take an order does not mean consumers want to give one to a machine.

Square and its restaurant customers must prove that voice AI improves the experience where it matters most: convenience, menu discovery, order accuracy, perceived value, and customer loyalty. They must also demonstrate that labor savings translate into a better overall operation—not longer waits, frustrated customers, or lost opportunities for meaningful human interaction.

The ultimate test is simple: Does Square’s kiosk give consumers a compelling reason to choose that restaurant again? If the measurable benefits accrue primarily to the operator while customers receive no meaningful improvement, that is labor optimization—not consumer innovation.

The Grocerant Guru® bottom line: Consumers do not reward restaurants simply for adopting AI. They reward restaurants that make the next meal easier to find, worth the price, and satisfying enough to repeat.

What Square Is Bringing to the Ordering Experience

Square, the Oakland-based point-of-sale provider owned by Block, has introduced a kiosk designed to let restaurant customers order by voice, touchscreen, or a combination of both.

The device features a 21.5-inch display and built-in voice AI trained on the restaurant’s menu. According to the announcement, customers can ask questions about spice levels, allergens, and popular food pairings. The kiosk can also detect when a customer approaches and welcome them to begin ordering.

James Schonzeit, Square’s head of food and beverage, says the objective is to combine the efficiency of self-service with the guidance customers receive from a good server. Thomas Templeton, Block’s head of hardware, argues that voice makes some menu questions easier to handle than navigating multiple touchscreen menus.

The concept has merit. Traditional kiosks can require customers to tap through several screens to identify ingredients, explore options, or customize an order. A conversational interface could make those tasks more natural.

But the critical distinction is between a technology that works and a technology customers want to use.

Square says customers can turn off the voice feature, continue ordering by touch, and request employee assistance when the AI cannot answer a question. Those options matter because consumer preferences differ. A commuter seeking speed may welcome voice ordering, while another customer may prefer a touchscreen or a conversation with an employee.

Choice is part of hospitality. Forcing every customer into one ordering method is not personalization.

1. Voice AI Could Make Menu Discovery Easier

Square’s kiosk is designed to answer questions using the restaurant’s menu information. That could reduce friction for customers who need help understanding ingredients, flavors, or combinations.

Consider three potential applications.

Quick-service restaurants: A customer deciding between two sandwiches could ask which is spicier, what comes with each, or which side complements the meal. A well-designed system could reduce uncertainty and help customers make a confident choice.

Convenience stores: A shopper selecting a freshly prepared sandwich, hot snack, or ready-to-eat meal could benefit from clearer ingredient information and suggestions for combining food and beverages. That could help transform an individual purchase into a more complete meal occasion.

Grocery delis: A customer choosing among prepared entrees, sides, and heat-and-eat options could use conversational guidance to assemble dinner for one person or an entire family. Better discovery could make the deli more useful as a destination for tonight’s meal.

These are potential applications, not proven outcomes from Square’s new kiosk.

Accuracy is essential, especially when customers ask about allergens. AI should use verified restaurant information, avoid guessing, and refer customers to a trained employee when an answer cannot be confirmed. A confident but incorrect answer can damage trust and create serious safety concerns.

The larger opportunity is to make menus easier to understand and meals easier to assemble. That is more valuable than simply moving the ordering process from a counter to a screen.

2. Hospitality Is More Than Taking an Order

Square’s goal of combining speed and hospitality is strategically sound. However, hospitality means more than a friendly greeting followed by a completed transaction.

A good employee can explain a menu, recognize a special request, resolve a problem, recommend a relevant item, and help a customer feel understood. Voice AI may replicate some of these functions, but it cannot assume every customer wants the same experience.

Consider three distinct meal occasions:

·       The commuter wants a fast, predictable transaction and may appreciate voice ordering if it reduces screen navigation.

·       The family ordering dinner may need ingredient clarification, substitutions, multiple meals, and reassurance that every item is correct.

·       The customer exploring a new menu may value an employee’s recommendation, an explanation of an unfamiliar flavor, or help understanding portion sizes.

One ordering interface will not necessarily serve all three equally well.

Square’s decision to preserve touchscreen ordering and provide an option to turn off voice is therefore important. Customers should be able to choose how they order rather than being forced into a technology experience they do not want.

For operators, the question is whether AI allows employees to spend more time helping customers and preparing food—or simply removes opportunities for employees to create a better experience.

Technology should strengthen hospitality, not redefine hospitality downward to mean merely completing a transaction.

3. Labor Savings Need a Sales-and-Service Scorecard

Square’s kiosk is priced at $1,999, with a reported $99 monthly software fee per device. The announced price includes a mount for counter, wall, or floor installation.

Those figures offer a starting point for evaluating the investment, but they do not establish whether the system will pay for itself.

At the announced pricing, one kiosk would cost $3,187 over its first 12 months: $1,999 for the hardware plus $1,188 in software fees. That excludes any additional installation labor, maintenance, downtime, or other operating expenses.

Restaurants need to determine whether the kiosk creates incremental economic value.

They should measure:

1.       Order throughput: Are more customers served during peak periods, and do actual wait times decline?

2.       Labor productivity: Are employees freed to perform higher-value tasks, or must they spend time troubleshooting the kiosk and assisting customers?

3.       Order accuracy: Do modifications, substitutions, and special requests reach the kitchen correctly?

4.       Average check: Does the system increase purchases without making customers feel pressured?

5.       Repeat business: Do customers return because the experience is genuinely better?

A restaurant might process more kiosk transactions while losing opportunities to connect personally with customers. It might also increase order volume only to create kitchen bottlenecks that erase the gains at the front counter.

The appropriate metric is not how many customers speak to a machine. It is whether the entire operation becomes more productive while customers receive better service.

Operators should also distinguish between shifting orders from employees to kiosks and generating genuinely incremental sales. Moving an existing transaction to a different interface does not automatically create new revenue.

4. The Real Opportunity Is Meal Building, Not Just Order Taking

The most promising application of voice AI may be helping customers decide what to eat.

Foodservice operators increasingly compete for meal occasions that cross traditional channel boundaries. A consumer deciding what to eat may consider a restaurant, a convenience-store prepared meal, a grocery deli entree, takeout, or delivery.

Consumers do not necessarily organize these choices according to industry categories. They want food that fits the occasion, budget, schedule, and appetite.

Imagine a customer asking, “What can I get for lunch that is spicy, filling, and under $12?” If the restaurant’s menu data supports that request, the kiosk could narrow the choices and make ordering easier.

Another customer might ask which available entree pairs well with a particular side. The system could help build a more complete meal without requiring the customer to navigate several screens.

These examples illustrate the potential rather than verified capabilities or results of Square’s announced product.

For operators, the strategic lesson is clear: Design technology around consumer needs rather than merely digitizing an existing menu.

A screen that reproduces a paper menu has limited strategic value. An interface that helps customers solve the problem of what to eat could have considerably more value.

The same principle applies to grocery delis and convenience-store foodservice. Make meals easier to discover, assemble, purchase, and enjoy.

5. Upselling Must Deliver Value, Not Just Add Items

Square says its voice AI will not proactively upsell customers initially, although upselling will remain part of the on-screen ordering process. The company is also working toward allowing operators to customize the voice.

These details matter because the way a recommendation is presented influences how customers perceive the experience.

A relevant suggestion can improve a meal. An irrelevant prompt can slow the transaction and undermine trust.

Consider three examples:

·       A sandwich customer receives a suggestion for a side and beverage that create a convenient lunch combination at a clear price.

·       A family ordering several entrees sees an appropriate bundle that reduces the cost of assembling dinner.

·       A customer ordering a spicy entree receives a suggestion for a complementary side or beverage that fits the flavor profile.

The commercial objective should be to help customers discover something they genuinely want—not simply maximize the number of items added to an order.

Operators should track attachment rates, average checks, promotion redemption, customer satisfaction, and repeat visits together. An increase in average check is less impressive if it comes with longer waits, abandoned orders, or declining customer loyalty.

The best recommendation delivers value to the customer while generating profitable sales for the operator.

6. A $1,999 Kiosk Is Not Automatically the Right Investment for Every Operator

Square says the device is intended for businesses ranging from single-location coffee shops to large restaurant chains.

The announced price may make the hardware accessible to a broad range of operators, but the total investment involves more than purchasing a screen.

Independent restaurants must consider the software subscription, installation, available space, menu-data quality, employee training, and time required to maintain the system. They must also determine whether customer volume and ordering patterns justify the expense.

A high-volume quick-service restaurant with recurring lunchtime queues may have a different business case from a neighborhood restaurant where customers value conversation and personal menu guidance.

For a small operator, the question is not whether a competitor has installed a kiosk. It is whether the technology solves a specific operational or consumer problem at a cost the business can justify.

Large chains may have more resources to test different configurations and compare results across locations. Smaller businesses may need a disciplined pilot before committing.

Technology adoption is not a strategy by itself. Consumer relevance and profitable execution are the strategy.

7. The Industry Needs Evidence, Not Just a Better Demonstration

Square’s kiosk combines a large 21.5-inch display with voice-enabled ordering. It can detect when a customer approaches and offer a welcome. If the AI cannot answer a question, the system is designed to bring an employee into the interaction.

These features may make ordering more approachable. But a polished demonstration cannot substitute for real-world performance.

Restaurant operators should pilot the system in comparable locations and evaluate results against an established baseline. They should also examine performance across different dayparts, menu categories, customer types, and levels of restaurant busyness.

The evaluation should include customers who prefer touchscreens, those who try voice ordering, and those who still want to order with an employee.

Operators should ask:

·       Did customers complete orders faster?

·       Were fewer orders abandoned?

·       Did order accuracy improve?

·       Did the system increase profitable sales?

·       Were employees able to spend more time helping customers and preparing food?

·       Did customers report a better experience and indicate that they would return?

Square expects the experience to improve as AI develops and customers become more comfortable with it. That may happen, but operators should not treat future improvements as present-day results.

The technology must earn its place through evidence.

The Grocerant Guru® Bottom Line

Square’s voice-AI kiosk addresses a legitimate challenge: how to combine operational efficiency with a better ordering experience. Its ability to answer menu questions, support both voice and touch, and involve an employee when necessary could make it more useful than a conventional self-service terminal.

Yet the consumer research cited in the announcement signals a warning. Some diners do not find kiosks appealing, and even more express reservations about voice AI in the drive-thru. Those attitudes should shape the rollout rather than be dismissed as resistance to change.

The broader foodservice opportunity is not to replace every human interaction with artificial intelligence. It is to use technology where it improves convenience, discovery, accuracy, and value while preserving human assistance where consumers want it.

Restaurants, grocery delis, and convenience stores all compete for the same underlying prize: becoming a relevant, trusted answer to the consumer’s next meal occasion.

Square may have created a useful new tool. The market will decide whether it creates a better meal experience.

Three Grocerant Guru® Insights

1. Labor savings are not consumer value.

Square must demonstrate that voice AI does more than reduce the cost of taking an order. Faster transactions, fewer errors, easier menu navigation, and better service must translate into a demonstrably better customer experience. If the savings never benefit the consumer, operators should not confuse internal efficiency with customer value.

2. Menu discovery is the real opportunity.

Consumers are not simply looking for a way to place an order; they are trying to decide what’s for dinner, lunch, or their next snack. Voice AI could help customers navigate flavors, ingredients, meal combinations, and price points. The competitive advantage belongs to operators that use AI to make choosing a meal easier—not merely to automate checkout.

3. Repeat business is the ultimate scorecard.

A kiosk can process transactions, but only consumers determine whether the experience deserves another visit. Restaurants must measure customer satisfaction, order accuracy, profitable add-on sales, repeat visits, and loyalty alongside labor productivity. Consumers are dynamic, not static. Technology must evolve with their expectations, not force them to adapt to the operator’s preferred way of doing business.

The Grocerant Guru® challenge: Don’t ask how many orders Square’s AI can take. Ask how many customers it can win, satisfy, and bring back. That’s the difference between installing technology and building consumer relevance.

For international corporate presentations, educational forums, or keynotes contact: Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions.  His extensive experience as a multi-unit restaurant operator, consultant, brand / product positioning expert and public speaking will leave success clues for all. For more information visit www.GrocerantGuru.com , www.FoodserviceSolutions.us or call    1-253-759-7869

Online Payment Platforms Can Make or Break Fresh Food Sales

 

At the intersection of customer demand for faster and faster online ordering options and grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh food sales is the online ordering platform and having an integrated payment platform the ilk of Square Online is imperative for success according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Restaurants, service deli’s, caterers, convenience stores, and non-traditional fresh food outlets need to integrate a payment platform the ilk of Square if for no other reasons to increase thin margins, reduced capacity limits, and help ease the pain of new stricter regulations.

Square Online offers restaurant, retailers, a comprehensive set of features that allows them to increase safety, reduce in-person contact, improve order accuracy, and adapt to changing consumer preferences all in support of that goal to never miss a sale.

Consider this, with Square Online, it’s easy too offer a variety of options for getting orders in diners’ hands: in-person and curbside pickup, delivery by an on-staff courier, or by a food delivery service. It’s important ot offer customer option at all locations.

At the Square Online home page, restaurants, retailers, delis, and c-store can take orders online, with no monthly fees or startup costs. The online ordering page features menu items and includes fast, secure checkout via credit card, debit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Square Pay. Upon checking out, diners can choose to place orders for curbside pickup or delivery. Delivery can be fulfilled by a restaurant’s own staff or on-demand.

So, with on-demand delivery from Square Online, restaurant owners can have orders delivered via professional third-party couriers like DoorDash or Postmates, but without paying those services’ steep marketplace commissions that can run up to 30% of an order’s total cost.

Online orders instantly display in Square’s Order Manager or restaurant point of sale system and relay to kitchen printers, so there’s no disruption to an establishment’s standard order process. Square Online also offers self-serve ordering, which allows restaurants to print QR codes, place them in order locations—tables, parking spaces, walk-up windows—to allow diners to order and pay from their mobile device without having to interact with waitstaff.

Here is an example from Square; Chris Pastena, the owner of the Chop Bar, a fast-casual restaurant in Oakland, California has been using Square Online on-demand delivery and said it helped him stay ahead of the curve in recent months. “With the threat of additional shelter-in-place orders looming, it’s more important than ever to be flexible and maintain our focus on pickup and delivery to continue serving our customers. Square Online’s on-demand delivery feature allowed us to quickly, affordably, and efficiently provide delivery options and keep our doors open.”

Yes, you can afford Square Online.  They offer a free plan that has all the features a dining establishment needs to start accepting orders online. Features include:

·         Sell an unlimited number of items

·         Offer pickup with automated order text alerts to customers

·         Ability to tip staff

·         Automatic inventory, item, and order sync with any Square Point of Sale System

The Free Plan is just that, free. Create an online ordering page, set up a menu, and launch without paying any startup costs or monthly fees. Pay only 2.9% plus 30¢ per transaction. Let’s look at some of the key parts of the plan:

1.       Contact-free, self-serve ordering - In addition to offering online ordering, Square Online also powers QR code-based in-person ordering. Diners can place orders tableside, outside, in line, or anywhere they have access to the QR codes that get created in Square Online. By scanning these QR codes, diners can view the menu, order, and pay from their phones. Self-serve orders get sent to the kitchen—just like they were entered by a server. This feature is available for free and costs only the regular processing rate of 2.9% + 30¢ per payment transaction.

2.       On-demand delivery - Restaurants can have DoorDash or Postmates deliver orders without having to pay marketplace commissions. When a customer orders from an establishment’s Square Online ordering page for delivery, the order gets immediately sent to the delivery service and a DoorDash or Postmates courier gets dispatched to pick up the order. On-demand delivery only costs restaurants $1.50 per order with no marketplace commissions.

3.       Pickup - This allows customers to order and pay online and easily pick their items up in person or select curbside pickup, so customers don’t have to leave the safety and comfort of their own vehicles.

4.       In-house delivery - Eateries also have the option of using an on-staff delivery team. Estimated delivery time, minimum delivery order value, and order status text alerts can all be customized. There is a fee of 50¢ per order to use this feature.

Integrates with Square - Square Online works with other Square offerings like loyalty, marketing, gift cards, customer directory, reporting, team management, and of course Square Point Of Sale and Square for Restaurants, retailers, and non-traditional outlets. Are you ready to integrate an online payment system?

Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a new menu product segment and brand and menu integration strategy.  Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit us on