Meta launches AI agents that handle customer service, sales, and transactions directly—shifting the company from selling ads to controlling the commercial moment itself.

What happened: Meta unveiled Business Agent, an AI system that answers customer questions, qualifies sales leads, manages bookings, and processes transactions within WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram. The global agentic AI market is projected to grow from US$10.9 billion（約1.7兆円） in 2026 to US$182.9 billion（約29兆円） by 2033, and major tech firms including Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and OpenAI are all moving into this space.

Why it matters: Meta has spent two decades building an advertising business around capturing attention and selling access to audiences. Business Agent shifts the company into the transactional moment that follows—where customers are already deciding what to buy or how to solve a problem. This gives Meta influence over what information customers see, which products are recommended, and how they move from inquiry to purchase. For small businesses lacking round-the-clock support staff, the appeal is obvious; for larger organizations, it integrates into existing systems. But over time, as more customer interactions flow through platforms businesses do not control, the balance of power may shift toward those platforms.

What to watch: The more useful an AI agent becomes, the more it shapes the interaction itself and generates valuable data about customer behavior—what drives hesitation and what closes a sale. The platforms mediating these exchanges gain both operational influence and commercial insight, while businesses risk increasing dependence on systems they do not own.