SMB AI Radar

Recent AI developments that matter for small and mid-sized businesses.

Short, sourced notes on how SMBs are putting AI to work, across operations, marketing, finance, and more. Updated weekly.

Marketinghospitality

Square opens ChatGPT and Claude ordering, turning AI chats into a new way for small merchants to get found

On July 1, Square rolled out new ChatGPT and Claude integrations that let customers discover small merchants and place orders from inside an AI assistant, with those orders routing straight into the seller's existing Square online ordering, point of sale, and kitchen systems. Eligible U.S. food service sellers are opted in automatically, with no setup work or added fees, and Square says voice ordering through Amazon's Alexa+ is next in development. Why this matters for SMBs reaches past restaurants: more customers are starting their search inside an AI chat rather than a browser, and the businesses that show up and can actually transact in that moment win the sale. You do not need to build anything exotic to prepare. The near-term move is making sure your menu, hours, services, and prices are accurate wherever they feed these assistants, so when a buyer asks an AI for a nearby option, your business is the one it can name and book.

Source: Square (Block) ↗
Operationshospitality

Restaurants using AI are pulling ahead on costs, a new mid-year report finds

Restaurant365's 2026 mid-year report, released July 16 and based on more than 420 operators representing nearly 10,000 U.S. locations, describes a widening profitability gap between restaurants that put AI to work on their back-office numbers and those that do not. Operators using AI reported lower food and labor costs and greater operational efficiency, and that gap matters at a moment when 83 percent said food costs rose in the first half of the year and 75 percent saw labor costs climb. The share of operators using or piloting AI for reporting and analytics jumped from roughly 25 percent at the start of 2026 to 69 percent by mid-year. For SMB leaders in any margin-tight business, the lesson travels well beyond restaurants: the edge is not the tool itself, it is pointing it at the numbers you already collect, inventory, hours, waste, and supplier costs, so you can catch a trend before it eats your margin. The report also names the real hesitations owners cite, data privacy and security, trust in the output, and the cost to get started, which is exactly where a small, careful first project beats a big leap.

Source: Restaurant365 (PR Newswire) ↗

Previous stories

DateFocusStory
Workforcecross-industry Most small businesses now use AI, but 7 in 10 say they still need training to use it well CPA Practice Advisor ↗
Marketingcross-industry AI is quietly deciding which small businesses customers even consider Harvard Business Review ↗
Financecross-industry New report: small businesses using AI are 20 times more likely to report revenue gains QuickBooks (Intuit) ↗
Operationsconstruction Commercial contractors hit an AI tipping point, with most now using or testing it For Construction Pros ↗
Toolscross-industry Microsoft makes Copilot a permanent part of its small business plans Microsoft 365 Blog ↗
Policy/Riskcross-industry Google warns AI is making scams harder for small businesses to spot Google Keyword Blog ↗
Toolscross-industry Small business AI use is nearly universal, but confidence is the real divide Bluehost (PR Newswire) ↗
Policy/Riskcross-industry Fake AI tools are now a fast-growing way attackers target small businesses Securelist (Kaspersky) ↗