Block launches Buzz workspace for teams and AI agents
The open-source platform gives AI agents their own accounts, permissions and audit trails as companies test digital workers inside operations.
By Rafael Ortiz · Fintech Correspondent
· 3 min read
Block released Buzz on Tuesday, an open-source collaboration platform designed to place employees and artificial intelligence agents inside the same workplace channels. The launch pushes Block into direct competition with established team software such as Slack and developer tools such as GitHub, while corporate use of agentic AI is rising from low levels, according to research cited by PYMNTS.
Jack Dorsey, Block’s chief executive, said on X that Buzz is “model-agnostic, decentralized, self-sovereign and open source.” He said Block built the platform to reduce its reliance on Slack and GitHub.
Buzz addresses an operational gap for companies adopting AI agents: how to give software workers a defined place, identity and set of responsibilities within a company’s communications and workflow systems. Block said the product is meant for teams where people and agents collaborate in shared channels rather than treating AI as an add-on attached to an employee account.
How the platform works
Each agent in Buzz has its own account, cryptographic keys and permissions, using the open Nostr protocol, according to Block and reporting by SiliconANGLE. That structure allows an agent to send messages, review code and initiate routine tasks while operating under its own identity.
Bradley Axen, Block’s head of AI capabilities, said in the company’s announcement that “Every company is going to need a place where humans and agents work together.”
The platform combines functions that teams often split across several tools. Crypto Briefing reported that Buzz includes channels, threaded conversations, direct messages, voice, media sharing, code storage and automated workflows. Block said the interface is intended to be familiar to users of modern workplace chat products.
Buzz is not tied to a single AI system. Decrypt reported that it works with agents built on Anthropic’s Claude Code, OpenAI’s Codex and Block’s goose system. Thomas Petersen, a principal designer at Block, said the company used agents to build the platform, including its interface.
The design also creates an audit trail. Actions by an AI agent are logged under that agent’s identity, including messages, code changes and completed tasks. That gives managers a record of what the agent did, when it acted and which human is accountable for its work, according to the reporting on the launch.
Agentic AI adoption accelerates
PYMNTS cited Harvard Business Review research showing that 31% of surveyed leaders said their companies describe AI as a teammate or employee. Nearly one in four said agents are formally listed on organizational charts.
PYMNTS Intelligence also reported in “Agentic AI Breaks Out of the Sandbox” that agentic AI adoption in the services sector rose from 4.3% in August to 25% in November. Adoption among technology firms tripled to 30.8%, according to the report.
Control is central to Block’s pitch
Block is offering Buzz as free open-source software, allowing companies to inspect or modify the code. Companies can run it on their own systems, keeping conversations and code away from Block’s servers, or use a hosted version from Block.
Other companies are also building tools for human and AI agent collaboration. TechCrunch reported that Paradigm, the crypto-focused venture firm, has built a rival platform called Centaur. Paradigm chief technology officer Georgios Konstantopoulos argued that companies may want to run such software themselves for security while still connecting with workers in Slack.
The product remains early. SiliconANGLE reported that mobile apps and approval controls for agent workflows are not yet complete. Block has not announced pricing for its hosted version.
This story draws on original reporting from PYMNTS.
