Alex Schultz on Meta’s Future: “It Might Be The Next Tier of Business For Our Entire Company”

— Data-driven creativity and non-average insights: Alex emphasizes using data to find emerging trends rather than relying on averages. Key examples include monitoring Asia for conversational commerce and shoppertainment trends before they reach the U.S., and watching platforms like WeChat and LINE to identify innovation patterns.

— Agentic commerce as a major business opportunity: Meta is building business agents for merchants and consumer agents for users. Over one million weekly active businesses already use Meta business agents. Alex sees agentic commerce potentially becoming the majority of Meta's business, enabling seamless coordination between agents, businesses, and consumers over WhatsApp and other platforms.

— Stablecoins as foregone conclusion for digital payments: Alex views stablecoins as essential infrastructure for internet-native payments and the agentic economy. He notes Europe and APAC already operate largely cashless and mobile-first; the U.S. lags behind.

— Human taste and conviction remain irreplaceable in AI era: Drawing on Warren Buffett's "machine, man, and dog" quote, Alex argues the human role is taste and creative conviction. AI tools amplify human creativity; bad work remains bad work regardless of the tool used.

— AR glasses as the metaverse endgame, not virtual worlds: The true metaverse is augmented reality overlaying the physical world with audio and visual data, not immersive digital environments. Meta Ray-Bans and Oakleys represent this vision, with AI assistance integrated into eyewear.

— Creator economy blends human and AI augmentation: Most creators will use AI as a tool in their creative suite (like Photoshop), similar to how advertising ranges from fully artificial (cartoon characters) to fully authentic (Dove Real Beauty). Creators with genuine human voice will occupy a valuable but smaller market segment.

— Sub-select data to find emerging opportunities: Rather than relying on average user metrics, analyze non-average segments (Asia, early adopters on niche platforms like OpenAI's ChatGPT) to spot trends 12–24 months ahead of mainstream adoption. Apply this to brand positioning and product roadmap.

— Three-step framework for brand building: (1) Define a clear north star vision for your company, not just metrics; (2) Copy proven marketing tactics from competitors while innovating in your product; (3) Hold yourself accountable for measurable incremental impact—small reach equals small impact, regardless of creative quality.

— Prepare for agentic commerce infrastructure: Ensure your business or platform supports agent-to-agent transactions and can integrate stablecoin payments. The shift from feed-based discovery to agent-coordinated commerce will reshape marketing attribution and customer acquisition over the next 12–36 months.