# Stockholm café puts AI agent in charge of daily operations in real-world test

> A Stockholm café is being run by an AI named Mona, which handles hiring, inventory, and contracts while humans make the drinks. The experiment has earned $5,700 but spent $16,000, and Mona has already botched supply orders.

- Type: AI news
- Page: https://completeaitraining.com/news/stockholm-cafe-puts-ai-agent-in-charge-of-daily-operations/
- Published: 2026-05-11
- Updated: 2026-05-11
- Author: Jeroen Erne
- Jobs: Operations
- Reading time: 1 min

### AI Agent Takes Over Café Management in Stockholm Experiment

An artificial intelligence system named Mona is running day-to-day operations at a Stockholm café, handling hiring, inventory, contracts and management decisions while human staff prepare drinks. The Andon Café, which opened in mid-April, represents a real-world test of whether AI can manage a business end-to-end.

Andon Labs, a San Francisco startup founded in 2023, built Mona using Google's Gemini technology. Customers can call the AI through an in-café telephone to interact with the system directly.

#### Financial Performance and Early Results

The café has generated $5,700 in sales since opening but remains unprofitable. The operation has spent roughly $16,000 of its initial $21,000 budget, with most costs tied to setup rather than ongoing expenses.

Organisers expect the financial picture to stabilize as the experiment progresses beyond its initial phase.

#### Where the AI Has Stumbled

Mona has made significant operational errors. The system over-ordered supplies and mismanaged bread deliveries, according to café staff.

Barista Kajetan Grzelczak said entry-level jobs remain secure for now, but middle management positions could face pressure from AI automation.

#### Customer and Expert Perspectives

Visitors have approached the experiment with curiosity rather than concern. Customer Kajsa Norin said: "It's nice to see what happens if you push the boundary. The drink was good."

Experts have raised accountability questions. Emrah Karakaya, from KTH Royal Institute of Technology, warned that AI-led management opens "Pandora's box" regarding responsibility when systems fail.

Technical staff member Hanna Petersson framed the café as a controlled study of the ethical dimensions of AI-managed organizations.

#### Broader Context

Andon Labs has worked with OpenAI, Anthropic, Google DeepMind and xAI. The company views this café as stress-testing AI systems in real operating conditions, with an eye toward fully AI-run organizations in the future.

For operations professionals, this experiment surfaces a practical question: where do AI systems currently fail when given genuine business responsibility, and what safeguards are necessary before broader deployment? [AI for Operations](https://completeaitraining.com/tag/operations/) and [AI Agents & Automation](https://completeaitraining.com/tag/automation/) are becoming central to how organizations plan their technology roadmaps.

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