Meta’s AI agent push is moving slower than expected
Meta made a large workforce shift earlier this year to speed up AI development. The company laid off about 8,000 workers and moved about 7,000 people into AI-focused teams. The change was meant to support Meta’s spending, which could reach $145 billion in 2026.
Mark Zuckerberg told employees that Meta’s AI agents have not improved as quickly as expected, and that leaders misjudged the timing and rollout of the changes. Meta had been highly optimistic about tools like Claude Code earlier this year, but agent progress over the past few months did not speed up the way executives expected. Zuckerberg still expects Meta to see clearer benefits from its AI spending within three to six months.
Meta also paused a controversial program that tracked employee mouse and keyboard activity, and plans to make it opt-in if it returns. CTO Andrew Bosworth acknowledged that the launch of the group was handled badly and damaged trust because teams were moved quickly without a clear enough explanation.
Key points
- Meta cut about 8,000 jobs and moved about 7,000 workers into AI-focused teams.
- Zuckerberg said AI agents have advanced more slowly than expected.
- Meta had strong hopes for tools like Claude Code, but recent agent progress did not match expectations.
- A mouse and keyboard tracking program was paused and may return only as opt-in.
- The rollout hurt internal trust because the change felt rushed and poorly explained.