---
title: "The end of ads: Coinbase engineer says AI agents could kill the internet’s favorite business model"
date: 2026-05-06
source: http://www.bing.com/news/apiclick.aspx?ref=FexRss&aid=&tid=69fc587ab9414f50b765e1c63fe2131d&url=https%3a%2f%2fwww.coindesk.com%2ftech%2f2026%2f05%2f06%2fthe-end-of-ads-coinbase-engineer-says-ai-agents-could-kill-the-internet-s-favorite-business-model&c=1776973390664254410&mkt=en-us
description: "Erik Reppel, who created the x402 protocol, said that the web economy depends heavily on advertising revenue generated from humans. AI agents bypass that system entirely."
---

# The end of ads: Coinbase engineer says AI agents could kill the internet’s favorite business model

Erik Reppel, who created the x402 protocol, said that the web economy depends heavily on advertising revenue generated from humans. AI agents bypass that system entirely.

*Published: 2026-05-06*