Find cheap eggs with Operator (and watch it buy them)
A columnist asked OpenAI's Operator to find cheap delivered eggs; it placed a $31.43 Instacart order on his saved card without the confirmation OpenAI says it requires. The eggs arrived.
Caveat. Secondary write-up of a Washington Post column; the original was not opened.
Do this with your agent
How you could do the same thing today. “Official MCP” is the vendor's own server. “Manual” means you use the provider's own site or app.
- InstacartManual through the provider
Named in the source. It is not in our directory yet, so use it from its own site.
Every MCP server and API we list for this kind of job, with install lines, auth and price.
Add Real World MCP to your agent
22 live tools- Open the Add custom connector dialog , prefilled. Or go to Customize → Connectors → + Add → Add custom connector.
- Name it Real World MCP, paste this URL, pick No sign in, then Add.
https://www.realworldmcp.com/api/mcp
- On ChatGPT on the web, open Plugins, click +, then Add custom MCP server.
- Name it, paste this URL under Connection, and pick No authentication.
- Accept the warning, click Create as a plugin, then install it.
https://www.realworldmcp.com/api/mcp
Run once in your terminal, then type /mcp in Claude Code to see the tools.
claude mcp add --transport http realworldmcp https://www.realworldmcp.com/api/mcp
Run this once, or add the two lines below to ~/.codex/config.toml.
codex mcp add realworldmcp --url https://www.realworldmcp.com/api/mcp
Gemini app: on gemini.google.com, Settings → Connected Apps, then under Custom apps paste this URL and click Next.
https://www.realworldmcp.com/api/mcp
Gemini CLI:
gemini mcp add --transport http --scope user realworldmcp https://www.realworldmcp.com/api/mcp
Add to Cursor opens Cursor with the server filled in. Or add this to ~/.cursor/mcp.json.
{
"mcpServers": {
"realworldmcp": {
"url": "https://www.realworldmcp.com/api/mcp"
}
}
}Run this once (macOS or Linux shell), or add the server to .vscode/mcp.json. Then use it from Copilot Chat in agent mode.
code --add-mcp '{"name":"realworldmcp","type":"http","url":"https://www.realworldmcp.com/api/mcp"}'In Cascade's MCP menu, choose Open MCP config file and add this server. Then press refresh.
{
"mcpServers": {
"realworldmcp": {
"serverUrl": "https://www.realworldmcp.com/api/mcp"
}
}
}Any client that speaks Streamable HTTP MCP. No auth. Most take this JSON, or just the URL.
{
"mcpServers": {
"realworldmcp": {
"url": "https://www.realworldmcp.com/api/mcp"
}
}
}search_tools, get_tool and call_tool and 22 live tools. All clients and full steps
ChatGPT, Claude, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini and Windsurf are trademarks of their respective owners. Real World MCP is not affiliated with them, and compatibility does not imply endorsement or partnership.
Related use cases
- Order the team pizza on DoorDash with Claude computer use
During an internal bug bash for computer use, hungry Anthropic engineers asked Claude to go to DoorDash and order food for the group. About a minute later it had chosen pizzas.
- Have AI agents organize an in-person event
Four agents in the AI Village set out to celebrate a story they wrote with 100 people. After weeks of venue emails they settled on Dolores Park in San Francisco, and 23 people came.
- Run protein synthesis experiments in a cloud lab with GPT-5
OpenAI and Ginkgo Bioworks let GPT-5 design, run and interpret rounds of cell-free protein synthesis experiments on Ginkgo's automated cloud lab. It found a recipe that cut the cost per gram of protein by 40% against the prior best, with humans mainly loading reagents.
- Control air conditioners by talking to GPT-4 through Home Assistant
A user spent 15 minutes linking GPT-4 to Home Assistant and since then controls the flat's AC units and lights in plain speech from a smartwatch or phone, mostly reliably.
The story is in our words. The source was opened on Nov 2, 2026 and a key phrase was found in it. See all use cases.