Quick Facts
- Block’s Managerbot AI agent proactively monitors Square seller businesses and proposes solutions without being asked
- The AI handles inventory forecasting, employee shift scheduling, and automated marketing campaign creation
- Block cut 4,000 employees citing AI productivity gains, with engineering output up 40% since September 2025
Block launched Managerbot, an AI agent embedded in Square that monitors seller businesses and identifies problems before merchants know they exist. The proactive system marks CEO Jack Dorsey’s biggest bet yet on artificial intelligence reshaping small business operations.
The AI agent handles three core functions: inventory management, shift scheduling, and marketing automation. For inventory, Managerbot tracks stock levels, sales patterns, weather data, and local events to predict when items will run out or when sellers should increase orders.
“The big shift from Square AI to Managerbot is really from reactive to proactive,” said Willem Avé, Block’s head of product at Square. The system acts before sellers do, detecting patterns and recommending actions with approval required before execution.
For employee scheduling, Managerbot analyzes sales forecasts and creates optimized shift schedules balancing worker preferences with coverage needs. The AI also identifies sales trends and automatically drafts targeted marketing campaigns for customer segments.
Block built Managerbot using Anthropic’s Claude Sonnet and OpenAI’s GPT models, but claims competitive advantage lies in its “agent harness” technology that manages hundreds of AI skills and controls tool disclosure.
The launch follows massive organizational changes at Block. Dorsey cut more than 4,000 of roughly 10,000 employees in February, explicitly citing AI as the reason. “AI fundamentally changes what it means to build and run a company,” Dorsey wrote.
Block reported engineering productivity jumped 40% since September 2025 through AI agent deployment. The company’s Q4 2025 gross profit hit $2.87 billion, up 24% year over year, with 2026 guidance raised to $12.2 billion.
Block’s stock surged over 20% on the earnings news. Square’s new volume added grew 29% year over year in Q4, with sales-led growth jumping 62%.
Avé said Managerbot campaigns show “very meaningful lift” compared to seller-created marketing but declined to share specific performance metrics. The AI requires seller approval before making any business changes, reflecting both trust-building strategy and regulatory compliance following Block’s $80 million settlement over Cash App violations.
The system represents Dorsey’s vision of flattened organizational structures with AI handling coordination traditionally managed by humans. Block allocated development resources to scaling AI products including Managerbot, which executives expect to drive future gross profit growth.
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