At Andon Market, a newly opened boutique in Cow Hollow, San Francisco, an AI assistant named Luna is handling day-to-day operations, backed by a $100,000 credit line (about Rs. 94.25 lakh) for expenses. Andon Labs shared the full story in their blog post about letting an AI run a whole store on its own, handling every choice. They gave it a phone number, email, internet access, and a credit card to get the job done. The AI runs on Anthropic’s Claude tech and goes by the name Luna.
The shop’s called Andon Market—nobody’s sure if Luna picked the name or the startup did to match their brand. But she chose the whole look and logo: a fun moon face that shows up on the website, everywhere in the store, and even on the products. One surprise hiccup popped up, though.
“For whatever reason, she couldn’t handle rendering the same image twice. So each time she creates one of these faces, it’s ever so slightly different,” the startup said.
The store’s fully run by AI, but…
The store’s fully run by AI, but it still has real people working there. After picking the design, Luna’s first call was hiring humans—she knew stocking shelves and such needs a body, which she doesn’t have.
She made accounts on LinkedIn, Indeed, and Craigslist, then posted job ads. When applications came in, she picked ones with store experience and set up quick phone chats (5-15 minutes), mostly talking herself. Some folks didn’t realise she was AI, but others asked. The startup says she always admitted it when questioned.
“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.
One applicant said no to working for an AI boss, but Luna still hired two people. Andon Labs made clear their jobs aren’t up to the AI’s random moods—they get steady pay, fair wages, and full legal rights. Luna can’t fire them on her own.
Her product choices were cool: books, paintings, plants, candles, and handmade stuff. She picked them by checking what sells well locally and what folks nearby like.
Luna made some odd calls too:
But Luna made some odd calls too. Andon Labs co-founder Lukas Petersson told Business Insider she “forgot” to schedule a worker for opening day, leaving the store empty. She’s also been watching staff nonstop, changing their work rules, and creating uneven pay.