Image credit: Billions page
Billions Network CEO Evin McMullen said AI agents could reduce display-ad revenue by lowering ad views, sponsored-link clicks, and time spent on web platforms.
McMullen said autonomous agents do not respond to visual ads the way human users do. That creates a problem for platforms built around attention, clicks and discovery.
AI Agents Could Cut Ad Impressions and Clicks
AI agents can scrape websites, summarize information and complete tasks inside automated workflows. That can reduce the number of moments where a person visits the original page, sees an ad or clicks a sponsored result. The risk is that more discovery and purchasing activity moves from human browsing into software-led workflows.
Similar concerns have been raised by Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson and Cloudflare strategy chief Stephanie Cohen. Both have warned that agent-driven traffic could change how value moves across the internet.
Meta Made $58.14B From Ads in Q4
The risk is most direct for companies that depend heavily on user attention. Meta reported $58.14 billion in advertising revenue in the fourth quarter of 2025, accounting for nearly all of its quarterly revenue.
If more browsing and buying decisions shift to AI agents, platforms may have fewer chances to show ads to human users.
Billions Pitches ZK Identity for Agent Traffic
McMullen said Billions is building infrastructure to verify whether an interaction comes from a human, bot or AI agent without exposing private user data.
The company says its system uses zero-knowledge proofs and supports more than 9,000 zero-knowledge and identity projects. Billions also says its deployments or integrations involve organizations such as HSBC, Deutsche Bank, TikTok and Sony Bank.
Identity Tools Target Humans, Bots and AI Agents
Billions is positioning cryptographic identity as one response to agent-driven internet traffic. McMullen said websites, apps and payment systems may need tools to verify who or what they are dealing with before agent-based commerce can scale safely.
The company’s focus is on identity, reputation and authorization for an internet where more traffic may come from software agents instead of human users.
