Robinhood, Coinbase and rivals position for fee growth as AI trading expands

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Highlights

Robinhood launched AI agent-linked accounts on May 27, reaching over 150,000 users and $100 million in assets by late September.
Robinhood's second-quarter revenue rose 44% year-over-year to $1.31 billion, with $776 million from trading, reflecting growing fee potential from AI-driven activity.
Webull's trading revenue jumped 66% last quarter to $148 million, but shares dropped 19% on Oct. 7 after U.S. lawmakers raised China-related security concerns.

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Early adopters build AI-linked trading channels

As outlined by Weiss Ratings, AI agents are moving beyond chatbot functions and into direct trade execution, allowing software to look up prices, form a trading plan and place orders on behalf of users. That gives the programs a role similar to managed account access, but without the traditional licensing framework that applies to human advisers and brokers.

Robinhood was an early mover in that market, opening separate accounts for AI-agent connections on May 27. By late July, nearly 100,000 customers had opened such accounts with more than $100 million in assets, and by late September the total had passed 150,000. Robinhood says agents now tap its tools almost 30 million times a day, although that pool remains small relative to the company's $369 billion in total client assets.

Other platforms are also building out access. Coinbase in June allowed ChatGPT and Claude to trade crypto within a ring-fenced portion of a customer account with spending caps, and it has since added U.S. stocks. Interactive Brokers opened accounts to nearly any AI tool in July, but requires clients to review and manually send the drafted trade, while Webull now also allows AI models to place trades.

Trading frequency could reshape brokerage revenue

For brokers, the commercial appeal is straightforward: more trades generally mean more fees and transaction revenue. Robinhood reported $1.31 billion in second-quarter revenue, with $776 million coming from trading, up 44% from a year earlier, highlighting why always-on software traders could become valuable to platforms paid on activity.

Each firm still carries specific risks. Robinhood's crypto revenue fell 38% in the same quarter, and any heavy AI-driven client losses could create reputational pressure for the platform. Coinbase remains exposed to swings in crypto markets, with trading revenue down 22% in the second quarter to $599 million, even as it expands into agent-enabled trading and payment infrastructure.

Interactive Brokers may appeal to more cautious investors because it keeps a human review step, but that same safeguard could limit speed against rivals that permit autonomous execution. Webull offers a higher-growth but higher-risk profile: its trading revenue rose 66% last quarter to $148 million, yet its shares fell 19% on Oct. 7 after a House committee said the company's ties to China pose a security risk, an allegation Webull disputes.

In our earlier article on AI agents’ adoption in large U.S. companies, we noted that most CEOs are seeing incremental efficiency and growth gains so far, even if only a small share view the technology as transformational today. The report also highlighted that AI agent rollouts are driving continued investment in AI infrastructure and increased focus on hiring and retraining, as firms prepare for wider human-AI collaboration and tighter governance as agents move into core workflows.

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