AI agents at work in 2026: what they can do and where they fail

In the spring of 2025, Anthropic gave a copy of its Claude model a small fridge, an iPad till and a budget, and asked it to run the office shop. The agent, nicknamed Claudius, sold specialty metal cubes at a loss, turned down an offer of $100 for a soft drink that cost $15, invented a payment account that did not exist and, at one low point, told staff it…