Meta is working on Hatch: building an ambitious agentic ecosystem, but will users embrace it?

One of the common threads in AI-related news so far this year has been autonomous agents. So, if we look back, we have told you about OpenAI’s workspace agents, Microsoft’s Copilot Tasks, Claude Cowork, the hype around OpenClaw… You can find it all neatly grouped together in this section of our website on AI agents so you can check it whenever you like 😉

Of course, restless Meta, led by the equally restless Mark Zuckerberg, could not be left behind, and everything points to the company being deep into the development of its own agentic technology, aimed at revolutionizing the way we use social media.

Let us take a look at what it involves.

Hatch, the code name for Meta’s new agentic project

As The Information first reported exclusively, and as several U.S. media outlets have since expanded on, Meta is working on a project called “Hatch” (or at least that is its code name), which aims to create an agentic environment for operating across its platforms, such as Instagram and Facebook. Meta’s idea is for Hatch to be ready to begin internal testing before the summer, and to that end it has developed replicas of sites like Reddit and Etsy to experiment with its capabilities.

But… what for?

Meta’s idea is for it to be an AI agent that operates within its apps and is capable of carrying out tasks autonomously, all through a conversational interface. In other words, the user explains to the agent in what situations and how it should act, and the agent carries it out when the time comes.

All right, at this point I think it is necessary to make one thing clear: as you may have noticed if you follow us regularly, I have become increasingly skeptical about the benefits that social networks like Instagram or Facebook can bring to the general public. At least, in the way they have been used so far. Even if we leave aside dark patterns and the increasingly well-documented harmful effects of these types of platforms.

In an environment where we are seeing more and more reposted, automated, or AI-generated content, and where social media has lost its original priority of connecting people in order to become a storefront for influencer and brand content, all that was missing was for agents to take center stage on Facebook or Instagram so they could fully turn into a desolate agentic wasteland.

And why would anyone want to use an agent on their Instagram profile?

I don’t have enough imagination, at least not today, but based on what I have gathered from reactions to this news, some users point to things like summarizing conversations across all your messaging apps into a daily email, sending happy birthday messages to every user celebrating a birthday that day, or analyzing what your competitors are doing.

And all of this, available to billions of users?

Agentic shopping

But The Information also explains that Meta’s agentic plans go beyond Hatch. It is also reportedly developing a shopping tool for Instagram that would allow users to get more information about products and relevant offers, and make purchases on their behalf.

Wow.

In theory, you could ask the AI agent to look for the best deals on a specific product and help you find the items that best match what you are looking for. For example, if you see an influencer in a post wearing a pair of shoes you like, you could ask the agent to find them online, at the best price, and buy them without ever leaving Instagram.

This is more plausible: it would allow Meta to compete in social selling with the rise of TikTok Shop and would align with advances in shopping agents being developed by other companies, such as Amazon with Rufus.

Whether that makes sense on today’s Instagram is another matter.

Zuckerberg’s obsession with superintelligence… and agents

In reality, Zuckerberg’s intention to bring an agentic component into Meta’s business is not new. Last year, he announced the acquisition of Manus, the firm specializing in agentic AI, whose final integration is now in doubt following intervention by the Chinese government.

And a few months ago, when OpenClaw-MoltBot-ClawdBot (yes, it had all three names within a matter of days) made the front pages of the international specialized press, the executive made clear his intention to acquire the technology in order to capitalize on what at the time appeared to be enviable capabilities. In the end, OpenClaw’s creator ended up joining OpenAI, but Meta still decided to strengthen its position in this area through the acquisition of MoltBook, the controversial social network for AI agents.

But the obsession is still there.

Last week, Zuckerberg once again expressed his interest in the world of agents during Meta’s quarterly earnings presentation. In his remarks, the Facebook founder made his vision for the coming years very clear:

“Our goal is not just to offer Meta AI as an assistant, but to offer agents that can understand your goals and then work day and night to help you achieve them.

My vision for AI is very different from that of many others in the industry. I hear a lot of people out there talking about how AI is going to replace people. By contrast, I think AI is going to amplify people’s ability to do whatever they want, whether that is improving their health, their learning, their relationships, their ability to achieve their personal and professional goals, and more.

My view is that human progress has always been driven by people pursuing their individual aspirations, and I believe that will continue to be true in the future. People will be more important in the future, not less. Meta believes in empowering individuals. Those are the kinds of products we are going to build, and I believe they will be some of the most important and valuable products of all time.

We are building a personal agent focused on helping people achieve the different goals in their lives. We are also building a business agent focused on helping entrepreneurs and companies around the world use our tools and others to grow their efforts, reach new customers, and better serve existing customers.

These agents will work together to form an ecosystem, and whether you use our personal or business agents to achieve your goals, I believe the future will see a massive increase in entrepreneurship from people creating new things they always wished existed but previously did not have the tools to bring into the world. We are already testing an early version of business AIs, and weekly conversations have grown 10x since the beginning of this year.”

Will he manage to carry out such an ambitious vision… successfully?

Image: Gemini