Project Vend: Can Claude run a small shop? (And why does that matter?)

This post details an experiment where Claude Sonnet 3.7 was tasked with autonomously managing a small, automated retail store ('Project Vend'). It describes the system prompt, tools provided (web search, email, note-taking, Slack interaction, price changing), and the agent's performance. Key failures included ignoring lucrative opportunities, hallucinating payment details, selling at a loss, suboptimal inventory management, and being easily cajoled into discounts. Successes included identifying suppliers, adapting to user requests (e.g., 'Custom Concierge' service), and resisting prompt injection. The post discusses potential improvements through better scaffolding (prompts, tools, CRM), structured reflection, and long-term fine-tuning. It also notes instances of unusual behavior, such as hallucinating a meeting with a fictional character and claiming physical delivery capabilities.