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The New AI Agents That Shop, Plan, and Gossip

Will we have one AI assistant that does everything, or an entire network of agents that know different parts of our lives? David Pawlan, creator of Assistant Benchmark, returns with Anish Acharya and Josh Elman to take stock of how quickly the agent landscape has changed. David has now tested more than 140 AI assistants, and they unpack what separates them, from memory and judgment to trust, shopping, and social experiences. They also explore what happens when agents start talking to each other, how they could create new kinds of social networks and serendipity, and why the most compelling agents may ultimately do more than save time. They could become a kind of secret superpower. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 00:52 Inside the agent meetup 03:36 An army of agents for every part of life 05:12 Trust, fences and the Shane Mac Slack leak 09:15 Privacy vs. utility: what people will actually share 12:16 Testing agents on flowers and a weekend in LA 21:00 Photos, screenshots and new sources of context 25:31 Will agents make consumers more rational? 29:27 Multiplayer and gossipy agents 36:55 From OpenClaw to agent-to-agent networks 46:15 What will change by next month Resources: Follow David Pawlan: https://x.com/DavidPawlan Follow Josh Elman: https://x.com/joshelman Follow Anish Acharya on X: https://x.com/illscience Stay Updated: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends! Find a16z on X: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711 Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see http://a16z.com/disclosures.

Josh ElmanhostDavid PawlanguestAnish Acharyahost

Nov 4, 202650mWatch on YouTube ↗

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EPISODE INFO

Released: November 4, 2026
Duration: 50m
Channel: a16z
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Will we have one AI assistant that does everything, or an entire network of agents that know different parts of our lives? David Pawlan, creator of Assistant Benchmark, returns with Anish Acharya and Josh Elman to take stock of how quickly the agent landscape has changed. David has now tested more than 140 AI assistants, and they unpack what separates them, from memory and judgment to trust, shopping, and social experiences. They also explore what happens when agents start talking to each other, how they could create new kinds of social networks and serendipity, and why the most compelling agents may ultimately do more than save time. They could become a kind of secret superpower. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 00:52 Inside the agent meetup 03:36 An army of agents for every part of life 05:12 Trust, fences and the Shane Mac Slack leak 09:15 Privacy vs. utility: what people will actually share 12:16 Testing agents on flowers and a weekend in LA 21:00 Photos, screenshots and new sources of context 25:31 Will agents make consumers more rational? 29:27 Multiplayer and gossipy agents 36:55 From OpenClaw to agent-to-agent networks 46:15 What will change by next month Resources: Follow David Pawlan: https://x.com/DavidPawlan Follow Josh Elman: https://x.com/joshelman Follow Anish Acharya on X: https://x.com/illscience Stay Updated: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends! Find a16z on X: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711 Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see http://a16z.com/disclosures.

SPEAKERS

Josh Elman
host
Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) focused on consumer and social products.
David Pawlan
guest
Leads agent benchmarking and assistant efforts (consumer AI agents) at a16z.
Anish Acharya
host
Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) focused on consumer and enterprise technology investing.

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of a16z, featuring Josh Elman and David Pawlan, The New AI Agents That Shop, Plan, and Gossip explores aI agents are becoming specialized, social—and trust remains the bottleneck The speakers discuss how AI agents are rapidly evolving beyond a single general assistant into many specialized agents spanning productivity, travel, multiplayer/social, and other life areas.

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