Meta's Muse AI Agent Handles Tasks From Packing to Email Coordination

Meta's Muse app, launched on September 8, has quickly become the most downloaded free app on the iPhone App Store, with more than 2.5 million installs. The AI assistant, which users can name, performed a range of tasks for a tester, including arranging a date-night reservation, creating a daily packing schedule for an upcoming move, emailing a friend about travel plans and compiling restaurant suggestions into a Google document.

The service operates through a cloud-based virtual computer that can browse the web, fill forms and retrieve information. After linking Google applications, the assistant was able to draft messages, pull data from websites and generate organized files. It also identified why a purchase attempt for shampoo failed, noting that the retailer required a professional license.

"While feedback (around Muse) has been positive, privacy and trust remain key considerations for broader adoption," analysts at Bank of America wrote in a research note.

"AI agents are often framed as helpful personal assistants, but to live up to their potential they typically need an enormous amount of private data to function," Miranda Bogen, director of the Center for Democracy & Technology’s AI Governance Lab, said in an email.

The app offers five tabs for chat, personalized feeds, prompt ideas, goal tracking and file management. However, the tester noted limitations: the assistant suggested two closed restaurants for a date night, and its advertised ability to haggle on Facebook Marketplace required the user to send the drafted message manually. Restrictions on e-commerce sites also limited automation; Amazon blocked browsing, and Target required manual entry of checkout details despite the assistant retrieving product links.

Meta emphasizes that Muse runs on a dedicated cloud environment that cannot be accessed by other agents and that it does not view users' passwords or payment methods. Nonetheless, public opinion on AI agents remains cautious, with surveys indicating that many Americans view rapid AI development skeptically and have limited confidence in large technology firms.

Industry data show that while Muse has achieved early download success, ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini remain the most widely used AI assistants in the United States, according to recent market research.