a16z Crypto warns that the rise of AI agents could lead to the downfall of internet advertising as we know it.
a16z Crypto has posited that the emergence of autonomous commerce driven by AI agents could fundamentally alter the internet economy, potentially leading to the decline of traditional advertising.
Curated agent marketplaces resemble AOL, while open payment protocols mirror HTTP. Historically, HTTP prevailed. What will be the victor in the era of agentic commerce? pic.twitter.com/hFura0Sbxx
— a16z crypto (@a16zcrypto) March 22, 2026
Traditionally, the online shopping experience required users to visit specific retail websites, with the business model largely depending on diverting user attention to ads.
However, large language models and digital assistants function differently by executing predetermined algorithms without distraction from marketing efforts.
"Advertising gave rise to the free internet, which created a dataset of 10 trillion tokens that trained language models, now challenging the advertising model itself," remarked Sam Ragsdale, co-founder of Merit Systems.
In the current digital landscape, platforms like Facebook, TikTok, and LinkedIn have created closed environments, investing heavily in security to protect user data.
AI agents, equipped with computer vision, are increasingly capable of imitating human behavior online, making it difficult to distinguish between bots and actual users.
Preference for Open Protocols
Prominent AI platforms such as ChatGPT and Gemini have started integrating instant payment functionalities, enabling users in the U.S. to make purchases directly through chat interfaces.
Nevertheless, these features represent new closed ecosystems where sellers face rigorous scrutiny. Ragsdale envisions a future where agentic commerce thrives on open protocols like x402 from Coinbase and MPP from Tempo and Stripe.
"An assistant restricted to pre-approved vendors is akin to an employee limited to a few suppliers; in contrast, an agent utilizing open protocols resembles an entrepreneur with a bank account," he explained.
Although the concept of the status code "402" (Payment Required) was introduced in 1997, it struggled to facilitate micropayments due to the absence of a suitable fee structure. The rise of stablecoins has now addressed this challenge.
"In 1997, the internet lacked a business model, and the rationale for server interactions was unclear. Open protocols and the ingenuity of advertising resolved this, leading to a digital civilization. By 2026, this hack will become obsolete, replaced by open protocols and the status code," Ragsdale concluded.
Additionally, in March, a16z partner Noah Levin revealed that the actual transaction volume generated by AI agents was reported to be 15 times lower than previous estimates from Bloomberg.
