Square has announced the UK launch of Square AI, a free, conversational AI assistant built directly into the Square platform to help retailers of all sizes make clearer, faster decisions using their own data.
Square’s all in one POS eco-system claims to help retailers save time and boost productivity by simplifying payments, managing inventories and enhancing customer relationships. Now, its new powerful AI feature aims to make big-business intelligence more accessible for every retailer.
“Across our markets, we’re already seeing businesses use Square AI to get a clearer view on their performance, make faster decisions, and spend less time buried in reports,” said Willem Avé, Global Head of Product at Square.
“Businesses generate enormous amounts of data every day through payments and commerce. For a long time, turning that data into real insight has been something reserved for larger organisations with analysts and operations teams.
“Square AI levels the playing field by bringing powerful analytics into the flow of running a business, allowing businesses of every size to combine their instinct with real data, without complexity.”
The features of Square AI include:
- Deeper, context-aware business insights, combining a seller’s own data with relevant local information such as weather, events and neighbourhood trends, to help inform staffing, inventory and promotions.
- Natural, conversational interaction, allowing business owners to ask questions in everyday language and get instant answers without digging through reports or dashboards.
- Real time insights on business performance with AI-generated charts and views that can be pinned so key trends are always visible. For example, daily takings, peak trading hours, or week-on-week performance.
- Conversation history, enabling owners to revisit previous questions and continue exploring insights over time
- Mobile access, allowing insights and answers to be available on the Square Dashboard app
The new AI function comes after research commissioned by Square showed that while over half (53%) of UK small businesses have used AI, only 30% use it regularly. This low level of adoption is leaving many businesses experimenting without seeing value, or not yet taking advantage of AI at all.
The recent study also showed that half of SME owners describe themselves as instinct-led, compared with only 19% who rely on data to make decisions. However, almost three in four (74%) UK SME owners say they feel more confident when instinct is combined with insight. Square AI aims to bridge this gap, allowing retailers to easily back up their instincts with hard data from their own store.
When retailers are pressed for time, Square AI aims to speed up processes and put time back into retailers’ hands. Square’s research shows that UK businesses spend more time than they need analysing data (4.3 hours per week) plus additional time spent on admin and reporting (2.3 hours).
Retailers shared how time-savings will change their working week, with plans to improve their work-life balance (37.2%); find ways to market or promote their business (36.2%); explore new ideas or focus on business growth (35.0%); and spend more time building relationships with customers (32.4%).
John O’Beirne, CEO and Executive Director of Square International said: “UK businesses are operating in a tough environment right now, with rising costs, staffing pressure, and little margin for wasted time. Where Square AI comes in is backing everyday decisions with clarity and confidence, while giving owners meaningful time back each week. It’s built to feel practical, familiar, and trustworthy, because that’s what UK businesses need to keep moving forward.”
Trust around AI remains a barrier for many – 40.6% of UK SME owners say they do not trust AI to make recommendations without oversight, and 42% say clearer information about how their data is used would increase their comfort. Built directly into Square’s established commerce platform, Square AI offers a familiar and transparent entry point into AI for businesses already trusting Square with payments and operations.
UK businesses who were given earlier access to Square AI have already been benefitting from the new tools. Jayke Mangion, owner of Brickwood Coffee & Bread, an Aussie-inspired, South London based café, says: “[Square AI] is really useful for owner-operators, because it gives you quick answers to straightforward questions.
“Whether it’s: ‘how many croissants did we sell last week?’ or ‘how did revenue compare to this day last year?’, you can get the insights instantly and can make decisions faster.”
