Skip to navigationSkip to main contentSkip to right columnADVERTISEMENTEmma Newbery, The Motley FoolSat, August 1, 2026 at 3:08 PM GMT+2 4 min readAgentic artificial intelligence takes automated trading to a new level. Unlike trading bots that follow preset rules, AI agents can actually act on decisions they make, trading according to market conditions and learning from mistakes. AI agents can react to shifts in the market in real time, analyze data, form plans, and execute trades.Image source: Getty Images.Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »Customers of several brokerages, including Robinhood (NASDAQ: HOOD), can now connect AI tools such as Anthropic's Claude or OpenAI's ChatGPT to their accounts. Users move funds into their AI agent account and give it instructions for how they want it to trade. Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev wants AI agents to be able to do everything humans can. He aims to give retail investors the same computing power as institutional investors.Here are some of the ways agentic AI trading could transform not only crypto investing, but all investing -- for good and bad.How AI agents can impact the crypto industryCryptocurrency investing is always a wild ride, but the growth of agentic AI trading could make it even wilder. Having multiple AI agents automatically trading crypto in milliseconds on the back of breaking news or price movements could amplify price swings and quickly reduce liquidity, particularly if many traders have set up similar AI instructions. Many crypto investors have witnessed firsthand how automated liquidations can spiral rapidly into flash crashes.AI agents are also likely to trade more, meaning higher trading volumes and more transaction fees -- which is good for exchanges like Robinhood. For example, AI-controlled exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tend to turn over their holdings once a month, compared to once a year with ones managed by humans. For crypto investors, that could also mean a huge jump in the number of decentralized finance (DeFi) transactions, boosting programmable cryptos like Ethereum.On the plus side, AI agents can quickly detect and react to price discrepancies, contributing to price stability. They also take some of the emotion out of trading and help investors stick to preset strategies.How AI agents could impact your investingFrom an individual point of view, AI doesn't change the Foolish investment philosophy, which is to buy and hold quality assets for at least five years. Making consistent investments into companies or cryptocurrencies you have researched is a more reliable way to build wealth than short-term trading. That holds true even if AI helps.Terms and Privacy PolicyEU DSA contactPrivacy & Cookie SettingsMore Info