Meta Muse pulls ahead of ChatGPT in early AI app downloads
Meta Muse has started faster than ChatGPT’s early mobile rollout, with third-party estimates showing stronger iOS downloads in the US and Canada. The signal is early, but important for Meta’s AI push.
Meta may have found a new way into the AI race.
Its new AI app, Muse, is off to a quick start. Estimates from app intelligence firm Apptopia suggest Muse recorded about 1.8 million iOS downloads in the US and Canada during its first 12 days, compared with 1.3 million for ChatGPT during the same period after its mobile launch.
That sounds impressive. But the more interesting question is what Meta plans to do with that early attention.
Muse wants to do more than chat
Meta is positioning Muse as a personal AI agent rather than another chatbot. The idea is that users can give Muse tasks and let it get to work.
The agent can handle multi-step activities such as completing web forms, making purchases and helping turn goals into action plans. It operates through a dedicated virtual machine with its own browser. That puts Muse closer to an AI assistant that acts on a user's behalf than one that simply answers questions.
Meta also has something many AI startups do not: Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. Those existing platforms give it plenty of places to bring users into its AI ecosystem.
Apptopia estimates cited by TechCrunch say that Muse reached 2.8 million installs globally in 12 days. It also found that Muse's US daily active users were ahead of ChatGPT's at the equivalent point after its mobile launch.
ChatGPT launched on iOS globally, while Muse is available on both iOS and Android but has so far been limited to the US and Canada. To make the comparison closer, Apptopia looked at iOS users in those two markets. The figures are estimates, not official download numbers from Meta or OpenAI.
Interestingly, Muse has climbed to No. 1 on Apple's US App Store free-app chart after initially launching at No. 2.
Meta is already thinking beyond the app
The bigger bet may be about turning Muse into a platform.
Meta has introduced paid tiers priced at $20 and $100 a month, along with the Meta Model API for enterprise users. Shopify and Stripe are also among the companies working on integrations that could let Muse connect with commerce and payments.
That could give Muse a role beyond answering questions. If agents can book, buy, fill forms and complete other tasks, the AI assistant could become another way people interact with online services.
There is already some resistance, though. Amazon has blocked Muse from interacting with its platform, citing security and privacy concerns.
The real test starts now
Investors have certainly noticed the launch. Meta shares jumped 11.4% on Monday, adding to the attention around Muse and the company's AI spending. But downloads are only the opening act.
The bigger test is whether people keep using Muse, trust it with increasingly important tasks and find enough value to pay for it. Meta has managed to get people to try its AI agent. Now it has to give them a reason to keep it around.