By 2 min readApril 29, 2026 – 1:17PMAFP
Publication Date: 2026-04-29 03:17:00
The avocado toast and baristas making frothy lattes make it look like any other cafe, except that artificial intelligence (AI) is in charge at this cafe in a residential area of Stockholm.
The café has a minimalist design: a few tables decorated with small plants and gray walls.
Behind the counter is barista Kajetan Grzelczak, who was hired by “Mona,” the AI cafe manager backed by Google’s Gemini.
Grzelczak told AFP that “ordering isn’t really her best suit.”
“So I put up… a wall of shame for them,” he said, pointing to the shelves behind him.
The wall display shows some of Mona’s unnecessary purchases, including 10 liters (2.6 gallons) of cooking oil or 15 kilograms (33 pounds) of canned tomatoes.
Grzelczak complains that he cannot use them for everything that “Mona” put on the menu.
Orders can be placed either with Mona or one of the employees.
In one corner, a large screen displays the cafe’s real-time revenue and balance, and a phone lets customers…