Zuckerberg says personal AI agents could reach billions within five years

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Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has predicted that billions of people will have personal AI agents working on their behalf within the next five years, outlining the company's long-term vision as it continues investing heavily in artificial intelligence.

Speaking during Meta's second-quarter earnings call, Zuckerberg said he expects personal AI agents that understand users' goals and assist them around the clock to become widely adopted across different aspects of daily life.

He said these AI agents could help users manage finances, healthcare, personal relationships and household tasks, adding that WhatsApp would play a central role in Meta's AI agent strategy as it remains the company's leading platform for AI interactions.

Despite the vision, Meta's shares fell nearly 10 percent following the earnings announcement. The company's Reality Labs division, which develops AR glasses and VR headsets, reported a quarterly loss of about $4.6 billion, bringing its cumulative losses since 2021 to around $88 billion.

Meta's free cash flow also dropped 91 percent year-on-year to $784 million, largely due to increased investment in AI infrastructure.

Last week, Meta and BlackRock announced a partnership to build a $14 billion data centre in El Paso, Texas. During the quarter, Meta also expanded its business AI agents globally on WhatsApp and Messenger, with more than one million businesses adopting the service.