AI agent development hasn’t accelerated as expected, Zuckerberg says
Mark Zuckerberg said Meta’s AI agent progress has been slower than expected, noting the last four months of agent development “hasn't really accelerated” as hoped and that the company’s push into agent infrastructure in January may have been too aggressive, too early. He still expects Meta’s AI spending to begin paying off within three to six months. The remarks are a warning sign for tech and crypto firms betting that autonomous AI agents will soon drive blockchain payments. Meta has been heavily reorganizing around AI, including workforce cuts and major team reassignments, while also expanding its Meta Business Agent globally across Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp to handle customer service and sales. Crypto companies remain optimistic about agent-driven payments, with new integrations for stablecoin spending, but real usage is still small. Data cited shows only about $2 million in x402-related transaction volume over the past 30 days.
