Shares of Toast (NYSE:TOST) rose 2.75% on Thursday following the companys announcement of an expanded integration with Google that brings AI-enabled food ordering into Google Maps.
The integration ties Toast restaurants into Ask Maps, the conversational AI capability embedded in Google Maps. When a user seeks restaurant suggestions or requests specific menu items via voice or text, Ask Maps can present a Toast restaurants menu and complete the ordering process end to end.
Toast is listed as a co-developer of the Universal Commerce Protocol for Food, an open standard intended to define how AI agents locate restaurants, place orders, and complete checkout across platforms such as Search, Maps, and Gemini. The company said it is collaborating with Google and other industry participants to shape the mechanics of agentic ordering for food and beverage.
For operators that use Toast, orders placed through Ask Maps will be delivered into Toasts first-party ordering system. That routing allows restaurants to increase order volume while avoiding commission fees charged by third-party marketplace platforms. The integration effectively places Toast restaurants directly inside the Ask Maps experience when users search for meals.
To encourage initial adoption, Toast is offering a promotional incentive: customers who place an order via Ask Maps will receive $5 in Toast Cash applicable to a subsequent order at any participating Toast location. That Toast Cash reward can be redeemed through the Toast Local app.
The company said the Ask Maps ordering capability is expected to go live in late August, enabling guests to place orders at Toast restaurants from within the Google Maps app.
Sectors affected - Restaurant technology platforms, digital maps and location services, and payment/ordering systems.
Notes - The announcement links the conversational features of Google Maps to Toasts existing merchant infrastructure without adding new intermediary checkout flows.