Category
AI point of sale software: what they are and who makes them
restaurant and hospitality systems, retail and omnichannel systems, payments-first systems, modular business suites: Lightspeed, Square, Shopify through Zettle.
Types of AI point of sale software
Restaurant and hospitality systems
TouchBistro, orderbird and the restaurant edition of Lightspeed focus on tables, tabs, kitchen screens and tips. They are sold per location or per device, and most keep their assistant features small or absent. Pick one if staff split bills and send orders to a kitchen.
Retail and omnichannel systems
Shopify, Square and Lightspeed Retail tie the shop floor to an online store and a shared stock count. Their assistants answer sales questions and write product text. Retailers with web orders, several locations and a shared catalog gain most, because one stock count then feeds every sales channel at once.
Payments-first systems
SumUp, Zettle and Epos Now start from the card reader and add register software around it. The fee per transaction matters more than the software fee. They suit small sellers whose monthly sales are modest and mostly paid by card.
Modular business suites
Odoo and ready2order treat the till as one piece of a wider system. Odoo connects it to inventory, accounting and e-commerce, while ready2order adds fiscal packages for Austria and Germany. They suit owners who want one record across the business.
Facts at a glance
| Tool | Publisher | Based in | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lightspeed | Lightspeed Commerce Inc. | Canada | Paid + API |
| Square | Block, Inc. | United States | Free tier + API |
| Shopify | Shopify Inc. | Canada | Paid + API |
| Odoo | Odoo S.A. | Belgium | Free tier + API |
| ready2order | ready2order GmbH | Austria | Paid + API |
| TouchBistro | TouchBistro Inc. | Canada | Paid |
| SumUp | SumUp | United Kingdom | Free tier |
| Epos Now | EPOS NOW (UK) LIMITED | United Kingdom | Paid |
| orderbird | orderbird GmbH | Germany | Paid |
| Zettle | PayPal UK Ltd | United Kingdom | Free tier |
