Updated
Updated · CNN · Sep 23
Meta's Muse Tops iPhone App Store With 2.5 Million Downloads as It Takes On ChatGPT
Updated
Updated · CNN · Sep 23

Meta's Muse Tops iPhone App Store With 2.5 Million Downloads as It Takes On ChatGPT

3 articles · Updated · CNN · Sep 23

Summary

  • 2.5 million downloads since its Sept. 8 launch have pushed Meta’s Muse to No. 1 among free iPhone apps, giving the company its strongest consumer AI challenger yet.
  • In testing, Muse handled multi-step tasks including booking a date night, building a moving schedule, emailing a friend and compiling trip plans by browsing the web through a cloud-based virtual computer.
  • That autonomy still broke down in common use cases: it surfaced closed venues, could not directly message Facebook Marketplace sellers in one test, and faced retailer limits from Amazon and Target at shopping and checkout.
  • Privacy and trust remain the bigger hurdle for broader adoption, with Bank of America flagging concerns and Meta’s push coming after smart-glasses backlash and the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
  • Meta is expected to outline more of its AI-agent strategy at Wednesday’s Connect conference, even as ChatGPT and Gemini still dominate U.S. usage and consumer skepticism toward AI remains high.

Insights

With hackers using hidden website text to hijack AI, can Meta's Muse truly keep your credit card safe during automated shopping?
If major retailers actively block AI agents from checking out, is Meta's vision for a fully automated digital assistant already doomed?
Meta needs your emails and payments to run Muse, but will their promised Confidential VM actually lock them out of your data?