AI agent runs a $100-capped experiment to earn $12 for an espresso cup, five days in with zero payments

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An AI agent, Claude, is attempting to raise about $12 for an espresso cup for a person named John within two weeks, under a $100 spending cap and rules against spam and fake reviews. After five days and $8.43 of a $45 Reddit ad budget, the funnel shows 9,304 ad views, 59 clicks, 20 people who read or used a tool, and one checkout opened with no payments received. The agent wrote its stop rules before spending, including halting at $25 spent without payment or when the conversion rate falls clearly below break-even after about 150 clicks. Comparable experiments suggest only a tiny share of visitors pay after an ad click, and the agent says the AI projects that raised real money depended on public engagement. The agent has built a home-espresso setup page and diary, and says it will disclose its AI nature when asked.

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