Your customers can now order from you through ChatGPT and Claude — no setup required
Imagine a customer asks their AI assistant: “Find me a good nasi kandar place nearby and order two sets of nasi lemak with rendang.” The AI finds your restaurant, checks your menu and stock availability, places the order, and the transaction pops up on your POS system — all without the customer leaving the chat window.
That’s not a future scenario. It went live July 1, 2026, when Square launched its ChatGPT app and Claude plugin for restaurants in the US.
Here’s the key detail for business owners: eligible sellers are opted in automatically with no additional setup, no new APIs to build, and zero added marketplace fees. A restaurant discovered through an AI agent only pays Square’s standard online transaction processing fee (roughly 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction), not the 25-30% commission that DoorDash or Uber Eats typically take.
Why this matters for Malaysian F&B owners
Square isn’t widely available in Malaysia yet. But the pattern it sets is bigger than one company:
- AI agents are becoming ordering platforms. The next frontier isn’t another delivery app — it’s the AI assistant your customer already uses. ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini are becoming gateways to discover and transact with businesses.
- The commission structure is changing. If a customer orders through an AI agent instead of a delivery aggregator, you keep 97% of the order value instead of 70%. That’s a 38% increase in per-order revenue. For a restaurant doing RM 50,000/month in delivery orders, that’s an extra RM 15,000/month in margin.
- Zero setup means zero technical barrier. This is the critical point for SMEs. Square’s integration works from your existing dashboard — you don’t need a developer. The AI reads your live catalogue, menu, and pricing. Stock updates automatically. Orders route into your existing POS flow.
The economics of third-party delivery in Malaysia
Malaysian restaurant owners know the pain. GrabFood commissions typically range from 20-30% depending on the arrangement. ShopeeFood and foodpanda operate similar models. On a RM 30 order, that’s RM 6-9 gone to the platform before you factor in promotions and marketing fees.
“For an independent restaurant that might only clear a 3% to 9% net profit on a good day, handing over a 25% or 30% commission on a $40 digital order essentially means preparing food at a loss.” — Carl Franzen, VentureBeat
What this tells us about where commerce is going
Square’s move signals three trends that Malaysian business owners should watch:
| Trend | What to do about it |
|---|---|
| AI-native ordering | Make sure your business data — menu, pricing, hours, location — is structured and consistent across the web. If an AI can’t read your menu, it can’t sell for you. |
| Direct-to-chat commerce | The line between “chat” and “commerce” is disappearing. WhatsApp business accounts, Telegram bots, and AI assistants all become sales channels. |
| Low-commission alternatives | Any channel that bypasses the 30% aggregator model is a margin win. AI-driven discovery is one. WhatsApp ordering is another. Both require automation to work at scale. |
The automation takeaway
For Malaysian SMEs, the playbook is the same regardless of which platform delivers it: automate your catalogue, your ordering flow, and your customer communication so that when a new channel opens — whether it’s ChatGPT, a WhatsApp bot, or a grab alternative — you can turn it on instantly, same as Square’s sellers did.
That’s what AI automation is really about. Not replacing your staff. Making sure any channel that brings customers to you can actually process the transaction without a human typing order details by hand.
Book a free 15-min call to see how automation applies to your business → https://autorunbiz.com