Block introduces Buzz: a decentralized platform for collaboration between humans and AI agents
Block, the company led by Jack Dorsey, has officially launched Buzz — a free, open-source platform designed to unite people and AI agents in a single workspace. This is a bold move that could change the paradigm of corporate interaction, reducing dependence on giants like Slack and GitHub.
Buzz is built on the decentralized Nostr protocol, giving users full control over cryptographic keys and identity. The platform combines team chats, private messaging, voice calls, file sharing, code repositories, and automated workflows. Dorsey emphasizes that Buzz is intended for teams of any size, but the current version (0.4.22) is still in its early stages — mobile apps are absent, and some features are only under development.
AI Agents as Full-Fledged Participants
The key innovation of Buzz is agents that receive a separate cryptographic identity, access rights, and action history. They can be added to channels like regular employees. Agents can participate in discussions, analyze project history, review code, and launch automated processes. Each action is signed, allowing a clear distinction between human and machine work. Rights are flexibly configurable: for example, an agent can be granted access only to certain channels without access to the company's internal infrastructure.
Buzz is not tied to a single AI model. It supports Claude Code from Anthropic, Codex from OpenAI, and Block's own framework — goose. The open Agent Client Protocol (ACP) is used for connection, allowing integration of any models and systems.
Decentralization with Caveats
Buzz's architecture has an interesting feature. Despite the stated decentralization at the Nostr level, each workspace uses a single relay that serves as the sole source of truth for the system state. This means that decentralization primarily concerns key ownership and the open protocol, while the internal infrastructure of an individual space remains centralized around the chosen relay. Users can deploy their own server, but those using the managed version depend on Block's infrastructure.
Context and Prospects
The launch of Buzz comes amid a massive restructuring at Block. In February 2026, the company announced a reduction of up to 10% of its workforce (about 4,000 employees), and Dorsey linked this to a transition to a "more compact, flat, and AI-focused" structure. Already in June, Block implemented the AI tool Builderbot, which creates about 15% of all company code. Buzz is essentially the next logical step in this strategy.
As an analyst, I see significant potential in Buzz, but with reservations. The idea of giving agents their own identity and rights is a powerful step towards automation, but the reliance on a single relay in a workspace raises questions about scalability and resilience. Nevertheless, if Block can refine the platform and offer a real alternative to Slack and GitHub, it could become a major trend in corporate software.