Meta's Muse AI Assistant Gains App Store Traction After Intensive Development Effort

Meta's personal AI assistant, Muse, has climbed to the top of the App Store rankings following a months-long development push that involved thousands of Meta employees. The product was highlighted at the company's recent Connect conference, where AI chief Alexandr Wang described it as a "banger."

The effort was overseen by Nat Friedman, former GitHub CEO who heads Meta's superintelligence unit. Friedman and his team, including recent hires from AI-agent startup Dreamer, refined the chatbot from an early version that struggled with language coherence to a service capable of booking meetings and purchasing items. Internal testing by tens of thousands of staff helped improve the assistant's ability to select appropriate tools and maintain user-friendly interactions.

"Muse is busy working for millions of people because of the hard work of a bunch of people at Meta — and we're still cooking," a Meta spokesperson said.

The launch has coincided with a rise in Meta's share price of more than 20 percent, according to employees, and is seen as a morale boost after a period of layoffs and low morale. Analysts note that the app could generate new revenue streams by taking a commission on transactions initiated through Muse.

Privacy concerns have been raised because the assistant requires broad access to user accounts. Meta officials said the rollout was delayed to address safety and liability issues, and the company consulted security experts, including the creator of Signal, to strengthen Muse's architecture.

Meta continues to expand its AI workforce, hiring researchers and engineers from other firms, and is developing a new model called Watermelon that it claims rivals competitors. Wang indicated that additional AI initiatives are planned, stating that "the kitchen is just getting warmed up."