Coinbase Tests AI Agents on Slack and Email as Automation Push Accelerates

Coinbase has begun testing artificial intelligence agents integrated into workplace tools such as Slack and corporate email systems, marking a significant step in the company’s automation strategy.

Chief executive Brian Armstrong revealed that two internal AI agents have already been deployed to assist employees with daily tasks. He suggested that in the near future, workers may be able to create personalized AI assistants for their teams, adding that the number of AI agents could eventually surpass the number of human staff within the company.

Fred and Balaji AI Models Designed for Strategy and Innovation

The company introduced two agents named Fred and Balaji, modeled after former executives. Fred, inspired by Fred Ehrsam, functions as a strategic support tool that helps employees align priorities and evaluate decisions. The second agent, Balaji, was designed after Balaji Srinivasan and focuses on creative problem-solving and challenging assumptions to encourage innovative thinking across teams.

These deployments follow earlier initiatives aimed at increasing automation, including efforts to have more than 50% of company code generated by AI and transforming over 4,000 employees into “AI-native” workers.

Growing Role of AI Agents in Blockchain Payments

Coinbase has also expanded into agent-based financial systems with the launch of the x402 protocol in May 2025, designed to support automated payments across cryptocurrency and fiat networks. Industry leaders widely expect AI agents to become major participants in blockchain transactions.

Armstrong recently predicted that AI-driven systems could soon conduct more online transactions than humans. Similar views have been shared by figures such as Jeremy Allaire and Changpeng Zhao, both of whom believe digital currencies will play a central role in enabling autonomous financial activity.

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