Coinbase CTO says he's getting 'the best feedback' of his career from an AI agent

Aug 14, 2026 04:23 PM - 1 month ago 5

No 1 wants to perceive from a workfellow that they monopolized a gathering aliases grounded to get their constituent crossed — and fewer colleagues want to beryllium the 1 to stock that pinch their boss.

While thoughtful feedback tin beryllium valuable, it's not ever invited erstwhile it's unsolicited. Nowadays, Coinbase CTO Rob Witoff is getting that benignant of candid proposal regularly from a root he doesn't person to interest astir awkward workplace dynamics with: an AI agent.

"That's the benignant of feedback I'm getting each azygous time now," Witoff told Business Insider.

The institution precocious rolled retired a beta type of "Coinbase Coach," an soul AI instrumentality that's been embedded crossed information sources that workers person entree to, including Google Docs, gathering transcripts, Github commits, and Slack messages. It provides labor pinch backstage feedback based connected interactions pinch group passim the company. The reports aren't utilized successful capacity reviews aliases disposable to managers, Witoff said.

Employees tin opt successful for the instrumentality while it's successful beta, and the instrumentality tin reappraisal those transcripts alongside their Slack interactions and activity crossed different soul devices to supply play feedback, the CTO said.

When Coinbase linked its soul AI models to institution information sources, labor crossed the statement began building their ain agents to automate tasks and get feedback connected their work. That experimentation helped animate Coinbase Coach. The institution built an early type successful March for a mini testing group earlier rolling retired the beta internally successful June.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong talked astir his ain individual usage of the tooling successful an section of the "All-In Podcast" successful January. He said he utilized the AI adjunct done what he calls "reverse prompting." Rather than giving the exemplary a task, he asks it what he should do based connected the information it's gathered passim the company. It might, for example, emblem a disagreement wrong a squad complete strategy.

Armstrong said he besides asked the exemplary questions astir what he's changed his mind astir most, aliases really he could go a amended CEO. In response, the exemplary mightiness analyse really the CEO spent his clip complete the erstwhile 4th and comparison that pinch really he'd intended to walk it.

Pushing for highest performance

In an era hyper-focused connected results, continuous feedback from AI coaches whitethorn beryllium the adjacent loop successful improving performance.

Witoff said the instrumentality is portion of a broader effort for the institution to rethink what it means to amended efficiency.

"We are moving toward a civilization of proactive coaching," Witoff said.

The cryptocurrency level laid disconnected 14% of its staff, astir 700 workers, successful May, eliminating "pure managers" arsenic it shifts toward smaller teams and leans much connected individual contributors. On immoderate teams, a azygous worker whitethorn service arsenic engineer, designer, and merchandise manager.

Witoff said he's getting immoderate of the champion proposal of his profession because he has an impartial supplier who isn't acrophobic to show him the difficult things.

"Not truthful I tin beryllium micromanaged," Witoff said. "So I tin get bully feedback to beryllium the champion type of myself I tin be."

Witoff said the feedback tends to halfway connected 2 themes. One is communication: The coach will show him erstwhile he isn't being arsenic nonstop aliases clear arsenic he could be, prompting him to sharpen his point, pass it much efficiently, aliases articulate a clearer strategy.

The different is knowing erstwhile to measurement back. Witoff said he tin sometimes get excessively tactical, prompting the coach to show him he's "too successful the weeds" and should attraction much connected strategy while leaving execution to others.