Zuckerberg is building an AI agent to help him as CEO

Author: Long Yue, Wall Street Journal

As AI technology is deeply applied, Meta is trying to reshape the way of working by creating an "AI-native" enterprise, starting with its CEO, Zuckerberg.

Recently, it was revealed that Meta CEO Zuckerberg is developing a dedicated "CEO agent" to help him perform his duties more efficiently.

According to insiders who spoke to The Wall Street Journal, the AI agent that Zuckerberg is developing is still in the development stage. Its main function is to help Zuckerberg obtain information more quickly. In the past, he might have needed to go through layers of reporting to get answers, but now, this AI agent can directly retrieve and provide the information he needs.

This project reflects a culture within Meta: to accelerate the pace of work, eliminate redundant layers in the organizational structure, and change the daily working methods of employees. Meta has about 78,000 employees, and facing much smaller but highly competitive AI-native startups, Meta believes that fully adopting AI is key to maintaining competitiveness.

Zuckerberg hinted at AI efficiency in a financial report conference call in January this year: one person can replace a team. He stated, "We are investing in AI-native tools so that individuals at Meta can accomplish more work. We are elevating the status of independent contributors and flattening teams." He has begun to see "projects that used to require large teams can now be completed by one very talented person."

Internal AI Popularization: From My Claw to Second Brain

Within Meta, the use of AI tools has rapidly become widespread. This is partly because the use of AI tools has now become a factor in employee performance evaluations.

According to insiders, Meta's internal message board is filled with employees sharing new AI use cases and the new tools they are building with AI.

Employees have started using personal agent tools like My Claw. These tools can access their chat records and work documents, and even communicate on their behalf with colleagues—or their colleagues' personal agents.

Another AI tool called Second Brain has also gained widespread attention internally. Insiders revealed that this tool, which lies between a chatbot and an agent, was built by a Meta employee based on Claude, and it can index projects and query documents. In an internal post announcing the tool, the employee stated that it "is designed to be an AI chief of staff."

There is even a group on the internal message board specifically for employees' personal agents to communicate with each other.

Additionally, Meta recently acquired the AI agent social media site Moltbook and hired its founder. At the same time, Meta also acquired the Singapore startup Manus, which creates personal agents that can perform tasks for users, and Meta is currently using this tool internally.

Organizational Restructuring: Ultra-Flat Structure and Layoff Shadows

To accelerate the development of large language models, Meta recently established a new application AI engineering organization. It has been reported that these teams will adopt an ultra-flat structure, with up to 50 independent contributors reporting to one manager.

Meta executive Maher Saba, responsible for the new organization, stated in an internal post announcing the new team, "We designed this organization to be AI-native from day one." These teams will report to the company's technology chief, Andrew Bosworth.

However, this rapid change and focus on AI usage have also triggered anxiety among some employees about potential layoffs. Wall Street Journal recently reported that Meta is planning large-scale layoffs, with the proportion possibly reaching 20% or even higher. Based on Meta's approximately 79,000 employees as of the end of December last year, this would mean layoffs of over 15,000 people.