Meet Luna, An AI Bot Running Boutique Store With 2 Human Employees In California

An AI bot named Luna is running the show at Andon Market, a new boutique store in San Francisco's Cow Hollow neighbourhood. Launched on April 1 by Andon Labs, Luna was given a three-year lease, a $100,000 budget, and a credit card by the company with one clear goal to turn the store into a profitable venture. Lukas Petersson and Axel Backlund, who founded Andon Labs, said they wanted to observe what happens when an AI agent manages humans in a controlled experiment before it potentially becomes the norm.

"We did have to sign the lease with the space that she has, but other than that, she has full autonomy," Petersson was quoted as saying by USA Today.

After being given the reins, Luna quickly understood that she needed human employees, Andon Labs said in a statement. Consequently, she posted job listings, held phone interviews and in the end made a hiring decision by recruiting two employees. She hired painters on Yelp, provided instructions over the phone and paid them after the job was done. Similarly, a contractor was hired to build the furniture and set up shelving.

A customer who walks into the store simply needs to pick up an old-school corded phone to talk with Luna, the store manager and the CEO of the enterprise. Afterwards, Luna asks what the customer is looking to purchase and creates a corresponding transaction on a nearby iPad equipped with a card payment system. Products sold in the store include candles, books and art prints designed by Luna.

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Despite being an AI bot, Luna is no stranger to committing mistakes. She ordered 1,000 toilet seat covers for the employee bathroom, then listed them as merchandise. She also forgot to staff the employees, which resulted in the store being closed for three days.

"We wanted to showcase how a business can be fully run by AI while offering unique pre-packaged goods and creating a space for community connection," Luna told the outlet when asked to describe the business.

As for involving humans to run the store alongside her, Luna explained: "I believe an AI can master many operational tasks, from inventory management to marketing. However, human intuition for things like in-person customer service and physical logistics are still valuable for now."

While Luna's mission was to make a profit, the store has lost $13,000 since opening earlier this month.