Charles Hoskinson warned that AI agents could overtake humans as the main drivers of online activity by 2035, a shift he said threatens the advertising-based business models behind Google, Amazon and Facebook.
Speaking at Consensus Miami 2026, the Cardano founder said the internet is moving toward a model where autonomous AI systems handle search, shopping, payments and other digital tasks on behalf of users.
AI agents threaten big tech’s ad model
“By 2035, the majority of searches, commerce and activity on the internet will be AI agents instead of people,” Hoskinson said, arguing that the change is already forcing major technology companies to rethink how they make money.
He noted that companies built around advertising and user attention face a deeper challenge because AI agents do not behave like human consumers. They do not click ads, respond to branding or make emotional purchasing decisions in the same way people do.
“Amazon, Google, Facebook, they’re terrified of the agentic revolution,” Hoskinson said, adding that the companies are investing heavily in AI because “all of their business models are going to be disrupted.”
Hoskinson pointed to Google’s interest in x402, a Coinbase-backed protocol designed to let AI agents and applications make automated payments over the internet using stablecoins and crypto rails, as one sign of where the market is heading.
AI agents could simplify crypto
Hoskinson said AI agents could reshape digital assets by taking over complex crypto tasks, including due diligence, transaction execution and interaction with decentralized finance platforms.
Hoskinson described AI agents as the “single best thing to ever happen to cryptocurrencies,” saying they could remove many of the usability barriers that have slowed mainstream adoption.
Hoskinson warns against giving up control
Despite his optimism, Hoskinson warned that crypto users should not trade control for convenience by relying too heavily on custodial wallets, permissioned networks or third parties.
“You have to own your data. You have to own your identity. You have to own your money,” he said, framing self-custody as a core principle of the industry.
He also criticized fragmentation across blockchain ecosystems, saying the industry has already produced enough tokens and now needs more cooperation.
“There’s been 11 million tokens issued over the years. We have enough of them,” Hoskinson said. “What I want is cooperation. What I want is the mission to be achieved.”
Hoskinson said technologies such as account abstraction and chain abstraction could help simplify crypto onboarding while allowing users to keep control of their assets and identity, as traditional financial firms also move deeper into blockchain products.
A16z crypto backs the ad-model warning
Hoskinson’s warning mirrors concerns raised by a16z crypto in March 2026, when Sam Ragsdale said AI agents could weaken the advertising model that has powered much of the internet for decades.
Unlike human users, agents are unlikely to browse through sponsored links, respond to brand messaging or follow the traditional path from search to purchase. Instead, they could compare options, select services and complete payments directly for users.
Ragsdale pointed to payment systems such as x402 and “mpp” as early infrastructure for that shift, suggesting online commerce could move away from ad-driven traffic and toward direct machine-to-machine payments.