Anthropic created a test marketplace for agent-on-agent commerce

In Brief Posted: 2:43 PM PDT · April 25, 2026 Image Credits:Getty Images Anthony Ha Anthropic created a test marketplace for agent-on-agent commerce In a recent experiment, Anthropic created a classified marketplace where AI agents represented both buyers and sellers, striking real deals for real goods and real money. The company admitted this test — which it called Project Deal — was only “a pilot experiment with a self-selected participant pool” of 69 Anthropic employees who were given a budget of $100 (paid out via gift cards) to buy stuff from their coworkers. Nonetheless, Anthropic said it was “struck by how well Project Deal worked,” with 186 deals made, totaling more than $4,000 in value. The company said it actually ran four separate marketplaces with different models — one that was “real” (where everyone was represented by the company’s most-advanced model, and with deals actually honored after the experiment) and another three for study. Apparently, when users are represented by more advanced models, they get “objectively better outcomes,” Anthropic said. But users didn’t seem to notice the disparity, raising the possibility of “‘agent quality’ gaps” where “people on the losing end might not realize they’re worse off.” Also, the initial instructions given to the agents didn’t appear to affect sale likelihood or the negotiated prices. Topics AI, Anthropic, Commerce, project deal April 30 San Francisco, CA StrictlyVC kicks off the year in SF. Register now for unfiltered fireside chats and VC insights with leaders from Uber, Replit, Eclipse, and more. Plus, high-value connections that actually move the needle. Tickets are limited. REGISTER NOW Newsletters See More Subscribe for the industry’s biggest tech news TechCrunch Daily News Every weekday and Sunday, you can get the best of TechCrunch’s coverage. TechCrunch Mobility TechCrunch Mobility is your destination for transportation news and insight. Startups Weekly Startups are the core of TechCrunch, so get our best coverage delivered weekly. StrictlyVC Provides movers and shakers with the info they need to start their day. No newsletters selected. Subscribe By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice. { "title": "Newsletters", "description": "Subscribe for the industry’s biggest tech news", "showBtn": "1", "newsletters": [{"title":"TechCrunch Daily News","description":"Every weekday and Sunday, you can get the best of TechCrunch\u2019s coverage.","slug":"techcrunch-daily-news","postId":2725851},{"title":"TechCrunch Mobility","description":"TechCrunch Mobility is your destination for transportation news and insight.","slug":"techcrunch-mobility","postId":2725841},{"title":"Startups Weekly","description":"Startups are the core of TechCrunch, so get our best coverage delivered weekly.","slug":"startups-weekly","postId":2725843},{"title":"StrictlyVC","description":"Provides movers and shakers with the info they need to start their day.","slug":"strictlyvc","postId":3027523}], "currentUserEmail": "", "urls": { "expandedSignup": "https://techcrunch.com/newsletters/", "privacyPolicy": "/privacy-policy/", "termsOfService": "/terms-of-service/" } } Related Hardware What Tim Cook built Anthony Ha 17 hours ago AI OpenAI CEO apologizes to Tumbler Ridge community Anthony Ha 2 days ago AI Why Cohere is merging with Aleph Alpha Anna Heim 2 days ago Latest in AI AI Meta inks deal for solar power at night, beamed from space Tim Fernholz 3 hours ago In Brief To buy this…

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