Meta Chief Data Officer Alex Schultz said agentic commerce is emerging as the next tier of business, framing artificial intelligence-powered transactions as a major shift for online platforms, according to a CoinDesk report.
Schultz said stablecoins are effectively assumed inside Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Threads. The larger challenge, he said, is not whether a major technology company can imagine stablecoin use in commerce, but whether the rest of the market can move toward the same assumption.
Agentic commerce refers to transactions in which AI agents act on behalf of users or businesses. In practice, that could mean software that searches for products, compares prices, negotiates or completes purchases with limited human direction. The concept has gained attention as large technology companies embed AI assistants more deeply into messaging, search, advertising and shopping services.
AI agents could reshape digital payments
For companies such as Meta, the commercial opportunity is tied to the scale of their platforms. If users increasingly rely on AI assistants to discover products and services, the systems that manage identity, payments and trust could become more important to the customer relationship. That would put AI agents closer to the center of commerce rather than simply acting as recommendation tools.
Stablecoins, which are digital tokens typically designed to track the value of a government-issued currency such as the U.S. dollar, are viewed by some payments companies and crypto firms as a way to make transactions faster and cheaper, especially across borders. Their supporters say they can reduce settlement delays and improve access to digital payments. Critics and regulators have warned that stablecoins require strong reserves, clear oversight and consumer protections.
Schultz’s comments reflect a broader debate about whether crypto-based payments will become a routine part of consumer technology. Within a large platform, stablecoins can be discussed as an expected payment option. Outside that environment, businesses, banks, regulators and consumers still have to agree on standards, compliance requirements and practical reasons to use them.
Meta has a complicated history with digital currency. Its former Libra project, later renamed Diem, sought to build a global payments network but faced intense regulatory resistance and was eventually wound down. The company has since focused more heavily on AI, advertising technology and creator tools, while the wider crypto industry has continued to push stablecoins as one of its most commercially viable use cases.
The next phase of agentic commerce will likely depend on whether AI assistants can earn user trust and whether payment rails can support automated transactions safely. For now, Schultz’s remarks suggest Meta sees AI-driven commerce and stablecoin infrastructure as increasingly connected, even if mainstream adoption remains uneven.
Key questions
- What is agentic commerce?
- Agentic commerce is a form of digital shopping or business activity in which AI agents help users or companies make decisions, compare options and potentially complete transactions with limited human input.
- Why are stablecoins relevant to Meta’s commerce ambitions?
- Stablecoins could provide a fast digital payment method for AI-assisted transactions, but wider use depends on adoption by businesses, consumers, payment providers and regulators.
