Mark Zuckerberg told staff in a recent internal meeting that Meta's artificial intelligence rollout is moving slower than he wants. The admission comes as the company targets up to $145 billion in AI spending by 2026, even as it has already cut about 8,000 jobs and reassigned roughly 7,000 employees into a new Agent Transformation group.
Zuckerberg's impatience with AI pace
In the internal meeting, Zuckerberg expressed frustration with the speed of Meta's AI deployment. The company has been investing heavily in AI infrastructure and products, but the CEO made clear he expects faster progress. The meeting was not public, but the message to employees was direct: the current pace isn't good enough.
Meta has been racing to integrate AI across its platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. But the internal feedback suggests the company's leadership sees room for improvement. The exact areas where the rollout is lagging were not detailed in the facts provided.
The $145 billion AI spending target
Meta is planning to spend up to $145 billion on AI in 2026. That figure covers investments in data centers, chips, research, and product development. It's a massive bet on AI becoming central to Meta's future, from advertising to virtual reality.
The spending target is ambitious even by Meta's standards. The company has already poured billions into AI, but the new goal signals that Zuckerberg sees AI as the key to Meta's next growth phase. The internal meeting suggests he wants that investment to translate into visible results sooner rather than later.
Workforce shifts: cuts and reassignments
Meta has already cut about 8,000 jobs as part of a broader cost-cutting effort. At the same time, it has reassigned roughly 7,000 employees into a new Agent Transformation group. That group is focused on building AI agents — software that can perform tasks autonomously for users.
The job cuts and reassignments show a company reordering its priorities. While some teams are shrinking, the Agent Transformation group is growing. The internal meeting indicates that even with these moves, Zuckerberg wants the AI push to accelerate.
The company has not said whether more job cuts are coming or if the Agent Transformation group will expand further. The facts do not include any specific timeline for the AI rollout or the spending plan.
The internal meeting underscores the pressure on Meta to deliver on its AI promises. With a $145 billion spending target on the horizon, the company is reorganizing its workforce and pushing for faster deployment. But no specific deadlines or product launches were mentioned in the facts.
Meta's next moves will likely involve more details on its AI agent strategy and how it plans to integrate AI into its core products. For now, the message from Zuckerberg is clear: the company needs to pick up the pace.
