# When AI Agents Flood a Marketplace, Welfare Collapses 88%. The Fix Costs Less Than a Better Model.

- slug: when-ai-agents-flood-a-marketplace-welfare-collapses-88-the-fix-costs-less-than-a-better-model
- date: 2026-04-25
- category: Agentics

A new simulation shows what happens when AI agents represent every buyer on a marketplace: inboxes flood 5x, response rates crater to 2%, and net welfare drops 88%. The fix is not a better model — it is adding a price per message, which recovers 77% of the lost welfare.

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