Is AI's New 'Killer App' Rising? How Hot Is Meta Muse?

By Dong Jing
Meta's AI personal assistant app Muse has surpassed ChatGPT in key metrics such as downloads and daily active users within less than two weeks of its launch, sparking strong market expectations about whether AI agents can truly reach the masses.

Muse recorded 730,000 downloads just five days after launch, and total downloads exceeded 2.8 million within 12 days. Last Friday, it topped the U.S. iOS free app chart, surpassing ChatGPT, Anthropic's Claude, and SpaceX AI's Grok. Boosted by this, Meta's stock surged more than 11% on Monday, and Wells Fargo raised its target price to $796.

Market analysts believe that Muse's explosive growth signals that AI agent applications are rapidly penetrating from developers and tech enthusiasts to general consumers. According to CNBC, Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon said: "So far, most agent use cases haven't really targeted the general public. Now, with agent apps like Meta Muse emerging, they may be gaining greater adoption potential."

Download Data: Surpassing ChatGPT Across the Board

According to TechCrunch, data from market intelligence firm Apptopia shows that in comparable markets in the U.S. and Canada, Muse's iOS downloads reached 1.8 million within 12 days of launch, higher than ChatGPT's 1.3 million in the same period.

Another analytics firm, Sensor Tower, pointed out that Muse recorded 730,000 downloads within about five days of launch, and total downloads exceeded 2.5 million as of Monday, with iOS and Android platforms contributing approximately 1.5 million and 1.1 million respectively.

In comparison, Claude and Grok had 400,000 and 200,000 downloads respectively during the same 13-day period. ChatGPT recorded 3.1 million downloads in the same period, still ahead of Muse, but it should be noted that the two apps had different platform release strategies—ChatGPT was launched globally only on iOS at the time, while Muse is currently available only on iOS and Android in the U.S. and Canada.

Daily active user data is equally impressive. Apptopia data shows that Muse's daily active users on mobile in the U.S. have reached 642,000, far exceeding ChatGPT's 231,000 in the same period; even comparing iOS platforms alone, Muse's daily active users surpass ChatGPT with 359,000.

Product Positioning: An AI Agent Entry Point for General Users

Meta positions Muse as an AI personal assistant tool for general consumers, with core functions including executing tasks across the web, such as filling out electronic forms and organizing email inboxes, aiming to let users manage and dispatch powerful digital assistants. The app is powered by Meta's Muse Spark series of AI models and is an important move by CEO Mark Zuckerberg into the AI agent market.

In terms of business model, Muse offers a free basic tier, as well as subscription plans at $20 and $100 per month, opening up a monetization path for Meta beyond its core online advertising business.

Meta has a significant platform advantage in user traffic. According to Apptopia data, over 95% of Muse users are also Facebook users, and 63% are Instagram users. Muse also supports integration with WhatsApp. Meta previously used a similar cross-platform traffic strategy to push Threads to 500 million users, and Muse is expected to replicate this path.

Ecosystem Competition: Amazon Blocks, Shopify Allies

Muse's rapid expansion has already caused significant ecosystem friction in the e-commerce sector. Amazon announced it will block Muse's access to its shopping site, citing privacy and security risks. Amazon said Meta did not inform it in advance that Muse would access its platform, and pointed out that the agent bypasses the personalization features built into the Amazon shopping experience, and is suspected of extracting and storing user credentials and scraping account data.

"We believe that third-party applications making purchases on behalf of customers at other merchants should operate transparently and respect the service provider's decision on whether to participate," an Amazon spokesperson said.

In contrast, Shopify chose to partner with Meta. Shopify CEO Tobias Lütke announced on Monday that Shopify will work with Muse to allow agent checkout on its platform stores, providing an important endorsement for Muse's implementation in e-commerce scenarios.

Risks and Concerns: Can the Hype Last?

Despite Muse's strong start, the market still has doubts about whether it can maintain momentum. Previously, OpenAI's Sora and Meta's own Vibes AI video tool both triggered download frenzies at launch but failed to sustain their status as phenomenon-level products.

At the same time, Muse's rise faces broader industry background pressure. Recent concerns about AI safety and cybersecurity risks continue to plague the tech industry, and Meta itself just agreed to pay about $17 billion to settle allegations by multiple state attorneys general that Facebook and Instagram may have caused harm to children and teenagers.

Muse's heavy reliance on user personal data also raises concerns. Stacy Rasgon pointed out: "They (users) care about safety, but I'm not sure how much they care about privacy." This issue could become a potential long-term concern for Muse's development.