Meta shares climb as AI agent strategy expands beyond advertising

Meta Platforms META shares rose more than 4% on Wednesday as investors assessed the company's latest push to monetize artificial intelligence through a new business-focused AI agent platform.

The gains came even as concerns over the company's heavy spending on AI technology continued to weigh on broader investor sentiment.

The social media giant introduced Meta Business Agent, a new AI-powered service designed to help businesses communicate with customers across WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram.

The product can answer customer inquiries, recommend products, and book appointments, extending Meta's efforts to diversify revenue beyond its advertising business.

The launch comes as Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg continues to position artificial intelligence as the company's next major growth engine.

“Today, I want to introduce Meta Business Agent, giving every business, of any size, an agent to talk to customers and help run your operation,” Zuckerberg said in prepared remarks at a company event in London. “Now, a clothing shop in Birmingham or a bakery in São Paulo can offer the same always-on, highly-personalized experience as a major brand.”

The new feature will be incorporated into Meta One, the company's recently introduced subscription package for creators and businesses.

Meta also said it plans to begin testing subscription services for its standalone Meta AI application and website.

AI expansion moves beyond the core advertising business

Meta's latest initiative reflects its broader ambition to build a substantial AI-driven business alongside its advertising operations, which still account for roughly 98% of company's revenue. 

According to the company, larger businesses using the WhatsApp Business Platform will pay for Meta Business Agent on a consumption basis, similar to the current messaging model.

Businesses will also be able to integrate third-party platforms such as Shopify and Zendesk through the new Meta Business Agent Platform.

Zuckerberg outlined an even broader vision for the technology.

Zuckerberg said Meta is building increasingly autonomous AI agents that could help businesses expand operations by delivering competitive intelligence and real-time performance insights.

“As our models advance, your agent will take on more and eventually help you run your whole business,” Zuckerberg said in the prepared remarks.

The company first introduced a test version of the service, then called Business AI, in selected countries, including India and Mexico, last year. 

Heavy AI spending remains a key investor concern

Despite Wednesday's gains, Meta shares remain under pressure this year as investors debate whether the company's enormous AI investments will generate sufficient returns.

The stock has fallen nearly 4% since the beginning of the year and remains well below the highs reached earlier in 2026.

The company is pursuing an aggressive capital spending strategy that includes roughly $600 billion in planned investment, with about $350 billion expected over the next two years.

Morgan Stanley analyst Brian Nowak acknowledged that spending concerns have weighed on sentiment.

“Sentiment has troughed,” Nowak said, citing lower visibility and confidence in Meta's ability to convert AI investments into shareholder returns.

However, the analyst remains optimistic about the company's long-term prospects, maintaining Meta as a top technology pick with a $775 price target.

“We believe [AI investment and investor confidence] concerns, reflected in Meta’s valuation gap to its megacap peers, arguably misses the company’s improving moats,” Nowak said in a note published Wednesday.

“Meta still has 3.5 billion daily active users spending hours per day (and growing) on the platform, along with a litany of GPU-enabled improvements in the pipeline to drive further engagement and monetization growth", the analyst added.

Analysts see AI products creating new revenue streams

Analysts believe Meta's enormous user base could become a significant advantage as the company rolls out AI-powered products and subscription services.

Nowak estimates that if less than one-third of Meta's 3.5 billion daily users generate a single AI query per day, the business could add roughly $10 billion in annual revenue and provide meaningful upside to future earnings projections.

“Creating and scaling a differentiated top of funnel search agent won’t be easy across billions of users (given entrenched behavior around Google and other emerging chatbots),” Nowak said. “But Meta’s leading personalized data and distribution and ability to create new use cases and sources of consumer utility make this agentic call option possible.”

The company continues to generate strong financial results while funding its AI ambitions.

Meta reported first-quarter revenue of $56.3 billion, exceeding Wall Street expectations, and projected second-quarter revenue between $58 billion and $61 billion.