AI as the operating model: Block halved its workforce in February 2026 to run with smaller AI-using teams, builds its own model-agnostic agent stack (goose, Builderbot), and ships proactive agents to consumers (Moneybot) and sellers (Managerbot).
How is Block using AI?
Block runs its AI strategy as an operating model: in February 2026 it cut more than 4,000 jobs, from over 10,000 people to just under 6,000, saying a smaller team using AI tools can do more. Its consumer agent Moneybot is generally available in Cash App with over 1 million weekly engaged accounts, and Managerbot proposes actions to Square sellers. Internally, Builderbot, part of a stack built on Block's open-source goose agent, makes 15% of production code changes.
Category
Payments
Founded
2009
Headquarters
Oakland, United States
Licence and supervision
Licensed money transmitter and virtual-currency business in the US states that require it (New York DFS licences since 2013 and 2018) and some non-US jurisdictions; Square Financial Services is a Utah-chartered industrial loan company supervised by the Utah Department of Financial Institutions and the FDIC; Cash App Investing is an SEC-registered broker-dealer and FINRA member.
Scale
Gross profit of $3.17 billion in Q2 2026 (up 25% year over year), with 59 million Cash App monthly transacting actives in June 2026
Flagship platform
goose and Builderbot (internal); Moneybot and Managerbot (customer-facing)
AI leadership
Jack Dorsey · Amrita Ahuja · Dhanji Prasanna
- On February 26, 2026, alongside Q4 2025 results, Block said it was reducing its workforce from over 10,000 people to just under 6,000; CEO Jack Dorsey wrote that intelligence tools had changed what it means to build and run a company, and Block expected $450 million to $500 million of restructuring charges.
- Block had 10,205 full-time employees worldwide as of December 31, 2025, per its 10-K; its Q1 2026 operating income included $852 million of restructuring and other charges and accrued legal contingencies, while gross profit grew 27% year over year.
- As of early April 2026, 100% of Block employees were using AI tools, Builderbot was executing over 200,000 operations a day and making 15% of production code changes nearly fully autonomously, and AI tools reviewed over 90% of production code change requests; incident rates after code changes were down over 70% from Q1 2025.
- Moneybot, introduced in Cash App in November 2025, was generally available with over 1 million weekly engaged accounts in Q2 2026; Managerbot opened to more Square sellers in beta on April 28, 2026, and every action it proposes requires the seller's approval.
- Block says instant seller onboarding, rapid fraud detection and loan underwriting are machine-learning problems it has solved at scale for over fifteen years, and its 10-K says Square automates risk assessment for more than 99.95% of all transactions.
- Block was an early adopter of Anthropic's Model Context Protocol (November 2024) and co-founded the Agentic AI Foundation under the Linux Foundation with Anthropic and OpenAI on December 9, 2025, with goose as a founding project alongside MCP and AGENTS.md.
- The fraud and compliance record around Cash App includes a January 2025 CFPB order of up to $175 million over fraud handling and customer service, a $40 million New York DFS AML penalty in April 2025, and a $45 million multistate settlement announced July 8, 2026.
What is goose and Builderbot (internal); Moneybot and Managerbot (customer-facing)?
goose is Block's open-source AI agent framework, launched in January 2025; Block was an early adopter of Anthropic's Model Context Protocol, and in December 2025 it co-founded the Linux Foundation's Agentic AI Foundation with Anthropic and OpenAI, with goose as a founding project. Builderbot, Block's internal automation layer, was executing over 200,000 operations a day and making 15% of production code changes nearly fully autonomously as of early April 2026. The same stack underpins Moneybot in Cash App (generally available, over 1 million weekly engaged accounts in Q2 2026) and Managerbot, a Square Dashboard agent that proposes actions sellers approve.[1][10][11][5][6][2]
What has Block done on AI, and when?
- Aug 5, 2026
Q2 2026: Moneybot passes 1 million weekly engaged accounts[6]
Block reported gross profit of $3.17 billion (up 25%), said Moneybot was generally available with over 1 million weekly engaged accounts, and said agentic AI helped write and review nearly all production code changes in June.
- Jul 21, 2026
Dorsey unveils Buzz, Block's agent collaboration app[9][6]
Dorsey announced Buzz, an open-source group chat platform built by Block that puts people and their AI agents in the same conversations and manages GitHub projects; Block's Q2 letter describes it as its internally developed system for agent collaboration, launched in July.
- Jul 8, 2026
$45 million multistate settlement over Cash App fraud[14]
A multistate group of attorneys general announced a $45 million settlement resolving allegations that Block failed to protect Cash App users from fraud and did not provide the fraud protection and resolution it promised; it requires antifraud measures and customer support.
- May 7, 2026
Q1 2026: Moneybot live across Cash App, every employee using AI[5]
Block's shareholder letter said 100% of employees were using AI tools as of early April, Builderbot was making 15% of production code changes nearly fully autonomously, Moneybot was live across Cash App, and Managerbot was available to over 1 million sellers with US general availability expected in June.
- Apr 28, 2026
Managerbot opens to more Square sellers[2]
Square opened Managerbot, described as the next evolution of Square AI, to a broader group of sellers in open beta inside Square Dashboard; it monitors sales and labor, flags issues and proposes actions that the seller must approve.
- Feb 26, 2026
- Dec 9, 2025
Block co-founds the Agentic AI Foundation[11]
Anthropic, Block and OpenAI co-founded the Agentic AI Foundation under the Linux Foundation; Block's goose joined Anthropic's MCP and OpenAI's AGENTS.md as founding projects.
- Nov 13, 2025
Cash App introduces Moneybot[8]
Cash App's fall release introduced Moneybot, an assistant that answers questions about spending patterns and income and suggests actions, available to select users at launch with broader availability planned.
- Apr 10, 2025
New York DFS fines Block $40 million over AML failures[13]
DFS found gaps in Cash App's BSA/AML program, including inadequate customer due diligence and failure to effectively and timely monitor transactions, and required Block to retain an independent monitor.
- Jan 28, 2025
Block open-sources codename goose[1]
Block Open Source introduced goose, an open-source framework for building AI agents that take real-world actions such as running commands and modifying files; goose suggests actions but asks for confirmation before making changes.
- Jan 16, 2025
CFPB orders Cash App operator to pay up to $175 million[12]
The CFPB found Block failed to take timely and effective measures against fraud on Cash App, directed defrauded users to their banks instead of fully investigating disputes, and for years offered no working phone support; the order requires up to $120 million in redress and a $55 million civil money penalty.
- Nov 25, 2024
Block named an early adopter of Anthropic's MCP[10]
Anthropic's launch of the Model Context Protocol named Block as an early adopter that had integrated MCP into its systems, with CTO Dhanji Prasanna saying Block was excited to use it to build agentic systems.
Where does Block use AI today?
| System | What it does | Status | Use case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moneybot (Cash App)[5][6] | In-app assistant that surfaces spending, income and savings insights and proactively recommends actions; generally available with over 1 million weekly engaged accounts in Q2 2026, with about 70% of conversations started from proactive prompts in Q1 2026. | In production | Customer-facing chatbots |
| Managerbot (Square)[2][5] | Business agent in Square Dashboard that monitors sales, labor and inventory, flags issues and proposes actions that execute only after the seller approves; opened to more sellers in beta in April 2026 and available to over 1 million sellers, with US general availability expected in June 2026 per the Q1 letter. | Rolling out | Generative & agentic AI |
| Builderbot and goose[5][6] | Builderbot, part of Block's agent stack built on goose, was making 15% of production code changes nearly fully autonomously as of early April 2026, with people making the final decision to push to production; in June 2026 agentic AI helped write and review nearly all production code changes. | In production | AI-generated code & coding agents |
| Machine-learning risk assessment[6][4] | Block says rapid fraud detection is a machine-learning problem it has run in production at scale for over fifteen years; its 10-K says Square automates risk assessment for more than 99.95% of all transactions. | In production | Fraud detection |
| Machine-learning underwriting[6] | Block names loan underwriting among the machine-learning problems it has solved at scale for over fifteen years; Cash App consumer lending originated $18.9 billion in Q2 2026, driven by Cash App Borrow. | In production | Credit scoring & underwriting |
| Model-agnostic model platform[6] | Block says it built goose to work with any model because betting on a single lab means inheriting its ceiling, and runs one internal platform for model access, routing, tools and permissions so it can switch when a better model ships. | In production | Third-party & vendor AI |
| Evaluation systems and human sign-off[6][5] | Block runs evaluation systems that let it improve quality independently of the underlying models; for Builderbot's autonomous code changes people make the final decision to push to production, and incident rates after code changes fell over 70% year over year in Q1 2026. | In production | AI governance (general) |
Use-case links open the tracker's rules-by-use-case matrix: which documents govern each system type.
What has Block disclosed in numbers?
| Metric | Value | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Workforce reduction | from over 10,000 people to just under 6,000 (more than 4,000 roles)[7][3] | Feb 26, 2026 |
| Full-time employees before the cut | 10,205 worldwide (2,472 outside the US)[4] | Dec 31, 2025 |
| Restructuring charges | $450-500 million expected for the workforce reduction; Q1 2026 operating income included $852 million of restructuring and other charges and accrued legal contingencies[7][5] | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Builderbot activity | over 200,000 operations per day; 15% of production code changes made nearly fully autonomously (as of early April 2026)[5] | Apr 1, 2026 |
| Employees using AI tools | 100% (as of early April 2026)[5] | Apr 1, 2026 |
| Moneybot weekly engaged accounts | over 1 million[6] | Jun 30, 2026 |
| Incident rate after production code changes | down over 70% in Q1 2026 versus Q1 2025[5] | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Square transactions with automated risk assessment | more than 99.95%[4] | Dec 31, 2025 |
| Q2 2026 results | gross profit $3.17 billion (+25% YoY); Cash App gross profit $1.97 billion (+31%); 59 million Cash App monthly transacting actives[6] | Jun 30, 2026 |
“Intelligence tools have changed what it means to build and run a company. We’re already seeing it internally. A significantly smaller team, using the tools we’re building, can do more and do it better.”[3]
Jack Dorsey · Co-Founder and Block Head · Feb 26, 2026
“I’d rather get there honestly and on our own terms than be forced into it reactively.”[3]
Jack Dorsey · Co-Founder and Block Head · Feb 26, 2026
“We are choosing to shift how we operate at a time when our business is accelerating and we see an opportunity to move faster with smaller, highly talented teams using AI to automate more work,”[7]
Amrita Ahuja · Chief Financial Officer · Feb 26, 2026
“We are excited to partner on a protocol and use it to build agentic systems, which remove the burden of the mechanical so people can focus on the creative.”[10]
Dhanji R. Prasanna · Chief Technology Officer · Nov 25, 2024
Who runs AI at Block?
Which regulators govern Block's AI?
| Authority | Why it matters here | Documents |
|---|---|---|
| NY DFS | Licenses Block for money transmission (since 2013) and virtual currency business through Cash App (since 2018); fined Block $40 million in April 2025 over AML program and transaction-monitoring gaps and required an independent monitor. | DFS Frontier AI Models Industry Letter (May 2026) |
| CFPB | Its January 2025 order (up to $175 million) targeted Cash App's fraud controls, dispute investigations and customer service; Moneybot's customer-facing assistant and Cash App Borrow's automated lending sit within CFPB guidance on chatbots and adverse-action notices. | CFPB Chatbots in Consumer Finance (issue spotlight, 2023) ECOA / Regulation B adverse action (15 U.S.C. 1691(d); 12 CFR 1002.9) |
| FDIC | Insures and supervises Square Financial Services, Block's Utah industrial loan company, which began originating Cash App Borrow loans in Q2 2025. | |
| Utah Department of Financial Institutions | Chartered Square Financial Services as a Utah industrial loan company, operational since March 1, 2021. | |
| SEC | Block is an SEC-reporting issuer whose shareholder letters make detailed AI productivity claims, and Cash App Investing is an SEC-registered broker-dealer. | Investor Advisory Committee AI disclosure recommendation |
Linked authorities have a page in the AI Regulation Tracker; the others are named for completeness and not yet tracked.
What does the public record suggest about Block's AI strategy?
Analysis by BankingNewsAI from the sources cited on this page. Observations, not advice.
01
The job cuts were framed as AI-driven while the business was growing
Block announced the reduction from over 10,000 to under 6,000 people in the same release that reported 24% gross-profit growth, and its CFO described the move as a choice made while the business was accelerating, not a response to weak results.
02
Block measures its AI with metrics it defines itself
Builderbot's 15% share of code changes, Moneybot's 1 million weekly engaged accounts and the 70% drop in post-change incidents are all company-reported; Block defines a weekly engaged account as one that sent at least one message to Moneybot, or tapped a suggested prompt, in the trailing seven days.
03
The agents keep a human approval step
Managerbot proposes actions that execute only after the seller approves, goose asks for confirmation before making changes, and people make the final decision on Builderbot's autonomous code changes.
04
The fraud and AML record sits next to the AI build-out
Between January 2025 and July 2026 Block faced a CFPB order, a New York DFS AML penalty and a $45 million multistate settlement, all about fraud handling or monitoring on Cash App, the same functions Block describes as long-running machine-learning problems.
05
Open agent tooling is a strategic asset, not a side project
Block adopted MCP early, open-sourced goose, co-founded the Agentic AI Foundation and released Buzz as open source, while keeping its internal stack model-agnostic.
Did Block lay off employees because of AI?
Block said on February 26, 2026 that it was cutting more than 4,000 jobs, going from over 10,000 people to just under 6,000. CEO Jack Dorsey wrote that intelligence tools had changed what it means to build and run a company and that a significantly smaller team using those tools can do more. Block expected $450 million to $500 million of restructuring charges; its Q1 2026 operating income included $852 million of restructuring and other charges and accrued legal contingencies.
What is Cash App Moneybot?
Moneybot is Cash App's AI assistant, introduced in November 2025 to answer questions about spending, income and savings and suggest actions such as splitting a bill. Block's Q2 2026 shareholder letter said Moneybot was generally available with over 1 million weekly engaged accounts, and in Q1 2026 about 70% of Moneybot and Managerbot conversations started from proactive prompts.
What is Square Managerbot?
Managerbot is an AI business agent built into Square Dashboard that monitors a seller's sales, labor and inventory, flags problems and proposes actions. Square opened it to a broader group of sellers in open beta on April 28, 2026, and every action requires the seller's approval before it executes. Block's Q1 2026 letter said it was available to over 1 million sellers, with US general availability expected in June.
What is Block's goose AI agent?
goose is an open-source framework for building AI agents, launched by Block on January 28, 2025, that lets agents take real-world actions such as running commands and modifying files. Block built it to work with any model. In December 2025 goose became a founding project of the Linux Foundation's Agentic AI Foundation, which Block co-founded with Anthropic and OpenAI.
Does Block use AI for fraud detection?
Yes. Block says rapid fraud detection is one of the machine-learning problems it has run in production at scale for over fifteen years, and its 10-K says Square automates risk assessment for more than 99.95% of all transactions. Cash App's fraud handling has also drawn enforcement: a CFPB order of up to $175 million in January 2025 and a $45 million multistate settlement in July 2026.
Is Block a bank?
Block is not itself a bank, but its subsidiary Square Financial Services is a Utah-chartered industrial loan company supervised by the Utah Department of Financial Institutions and the FDIC, which has originated Cash App Borrow loans since Q2 2025. Block is also a licensed money transmitter and virtual-currency business, and Cash App Investing is an SEC-registered broker-dealer.
How much of Block's code is written by AI?
Block's Q1 2026 letter said Builderbot was making 15% of production code changes nearly fully autonomously as of early April 2026, with people making the final decision to push to production, and that AI tools reviewed over 90% of code change requests. Its Q2 2026 letter said agentic AI helped write and review nearly all production code changes in June 2026.
- Introducing codename goose
- Square Brings Managerbot to More Sellers, Giving Main Street an Intelligent Business Agent
- Q4 2025 Shareholder Letter (Exhibit 99.1 to Form 8-K)
- Block, Inc. Annual Report 2025 (Form 10-K)
- Q1 2026 Shareholder Letter (Exhibit 99.1 to Form 8-K)
- Q2 2026 Shareholder Letter (Exhibit 99.1 to Form 8-K)
- Block shares soar as much as 24% as company slashes workforce by nearly half
- Cash App debuts a new AI assistant that answers questions about your finances
- Jack Dorsey is taking on Slack with Buzz, a group chat platform for teams and their AI agents
- Introducing the Model Context Protocol
- Donating the Model Context Protocol and establishing the Agentic AI Foundation
- CFPB Orders Operator of Cash App to Pay $175 Million and Fix Its Failures on Fraud
- Superintendent Adrienne A. Harris Secures $40 Million Settlement with Block, Inc. for Inadequate Anti-Money Laundering Program and Virtual Currency Compliance Failures on Cash App Platform
- Attorney General Phil Weiser announces $45M nationwide settlement with Block, Inc. over deceptive practices on Cash App
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