Are chatbots yesterday's news? Kind of. OpenAI's launch of ChatGPT in late 2023 ignited a frenzy to implement generative AI that's still ongoing. However, the future of artificial intelligence (AI) won't be limited to merely having a conversation with a computer.
Anyone who listened to Meta Platforms' (META +2.48%) fourth-quarter earnings call a few weeks ago got a sneak peek at what AI advances could be on the way. In the near term, agentic AI is likely to be tremendously important. But what's the next big thing beyond agentic AI? And what could it mean for Meta?
NASDAQ: META
Key Data Points
The year of AI agents
Before we discuss what could follow agentic AI, we should first understand how big a deal AI agents could be. What exactly are AI agents? In a nutshell, they're software programs that use AI to interact with people and systems to perform tasks needed to achieve goals set by humans.
Meta Platforms' CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained how he envisions AI agents working during his company's Q4 call. Zuckerberg described a scenario in which a person gives an AI agent direction and then leaves. Meanwhile, the AI agent on its own performs the task. He mentioned examples including writing an app or optimizing software code.
2025 looks to be the year of AI agents -- or at least the year they first take center stage in a major way. Zuckerberg said that he thinks the technology will become "more and more prevalent over the next year or two." He added, "I also expect that 2025 will be the year when it becomes possible to build an AI engineering agent that has coding and problem-solving abilities of around a good mid-level engineer."
As you might imagine, agentic AI is likely to present a massive market opportunity. Zuckerberg believes that AI agents that can code as well as many human programmers will "be a profound milestone and potentially one of the most important innovations in history." He also thinks agentic AI will be a huge market over time.
Meta's Llama 4 large language model (LLM) could be one of the early leaders in agentic AI. Llama is already the most widely used AI model. Meta AI, which is based on Llama, has close to 600 million monthly active users. That makes it the "world's most used AI assistant," according to Meta. The company plans to launch Lllama 4 this year with several releases. This latest version of Meta's LLM will include agentic AI capabilities that benefit individuals and businesses.
The next big thing in AI?
Agentic AI will only be a stepping stone, though. The next big thing in AI just might be smart glasses.
Zuckerberg views glasses as "the ideal form factor for an AI device." He expects AI assistants on smart glasses will be able to "see what you see and hear what you hear." With that context, smart glasses would arguably be in a prime position to provide the greatest benefit.
2025 could be pivotal for these devices. Zuckerberg said in Meta's Q4 call:
This will be a defining year that determines if we're on a path toward many hundreds of millions and eventually billions of AI glasses and glasses being the next computing platform like we've been talking about for some time or if this is just going to be a longer grind.
While there is some uncertainty, he's optimistic about the future of smart glasses. Zuckerberg predicts that glasses will "be a very important computing platform in the future." He explained, "It's kind of hard for me to imagine that a decade or more from now, all the glasses aren't going to be basically be AI glasses." He also thinks that many people who don't wear glasses now will choose to wear smart glasses.
Meta's masterstroke
Not so coincidentally, Meta is making a big splash in the smart glasses market. As Zuckerberg said in the company's quarterly update, "Our Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses are a real hit." Meta's prototype Orion augmented reality (AR) glasses were also a hit, with many reviewers praising the functionality. In the press release launching Orion, the company promised, "In the next few years, you can expect to see new devices from us that build on our R&D efforts."
Meanwhile, Alphabet stopped supporting its Google Glass in 2023. Apple reportedly threw in the towel on its AR smart glasses program. Sure, other companies have smart glasses, including Amazon. However, most of Meta's top competitors are small, such as Rokid and XReal.
But Meta's decision to forge ahead with its smart glass development appears to be a masterstroke. And it just might position the company to be the leader in what could be the next big thing beyond agentic AI.
