Two days after its launch, Meta’s new personal AI agent Muse has risen to the No. 2 position on the U.S. App Store, according to market intelligence firm Sensor Tower. However, the app has been downloaded just over 83,000 times on iOS in the United States — a pace that lags behind Meta’s previous app debuts like Threads and even its own Meta AI app, suggesting cautious consumer adoption for an agent that requires deep access to personal data.
Muse, which Meta introduced on Tuesday, is the company’s biggest bet on consumer AI to date. Unlike chatbots that answer questions, Muse is designed to perform tasks on behalf of users: sending emails, booking travel, lowering bills, filling out forms, creating grocery lists from recipe reels, and making purchases through Link by Stripe (with purchase protections). Users connect their apps and services one at a time, including email, calendars, payments, health, smart home, and shopping services. Shopify’s Shop Pay and 1Password integrations are coming soon.
The launch comes less than two weeks after Meta agreed to an $18 billion multistate settlement over social media’s harms to children — a context that amplifies privacy questions about the new agent. To use Muse, consumers must trust Meta with more personal information than ever before.
Early download numbers paint a mixed picture. Sensor Tower reports that Muse’s 83,000 iOS downloads in the U.S. (the app is currently U.S.-only) pushed it to No. 2 on the App Store’s Top Charts, up from No. 4 on Wednesday. By comparison, Threads saw 4.3 million U.S. downloads on its launch day, and the Meta AI app saw 108,000. ChatGPT, which also debuted in a single market, topped half a million installs in its first week — an average of 83,300 daily, a figure Muse took two days to match.
On Android, Muse has only reached rank No. 338 in the Productivity category on Google Play (Android download numbers are not yet available). The agent is also accessible via the web and through WhatsApp, channels not captured in these estimates.
Muse enters a crowded field of consumer agentic AI. Google’s Gemini Spark, Anthropic’s Claude Cowork, and the startup Instinct — recently valued at $2.5 billion despite privacy and security concerns — are all vying for users. Meta believes agents that get things done will be the future of consumer AI, but early numbers suggest building that trust will take time.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- Muse demands access to sensitive personal data (email, calendar, payments, health), raising trust questions especially after Meta’s $18 billion settlement over social media harms.
- The agentic AI race is accelerating — Muse vs. Instinct vs. Google’s Gemini Spark — and early consumer adoption signals which model (broad integration vs. text-based) may win.
- If Muse fails to gain traction, it could slow Meta’s pivot from chatbots to autonomous agents; if it succeeds, it sets a benchmark for how much data consumers will hand over to AI.
Background
Meta launched Muse on Tuesday as a personal AI agent that connects to users’ apps and services to perform everyday tasks — sending emails, booking travel, making purchases, and more. It is powered by Meta’s research models and available as a standalone iOS app, via the web, and through WhatsApp. The launch follows an $18 billion multistate settlement over social media’s harms to children, which adds scrutiny to any new data-intensive product from Meta. Competitors like Instinct, a text-based agent valued at $2.5 billion, have also drawn privacy concerns. Early data from Sensor Tower shows Muse at No. 2 on the U.S. App Store with over 83,000 iOS downloads, though this pace is slower than Meta’s previous app launches.
Key Perspectives
Meta: Positioning Muse as the next step after chatbots — an agent that actually does things. The company is betting that agentic AI will define consumer AI, and that users will trust the opt-in, one-at-a-time app connections.
Privacy advocates and cautious consumers: The close timing of the $18 billion settlement over children’s harms raises red flags. Handing an AI access to email, calendars, and payment systems demands a level of trust that Meta’s track record may not support.
Competitors (Instinct, Google, Anthropic): Instinct has already drawn Silicon Valley buzz despite its own privacy concerns, and Google and Anthropic have their own agents. The race is on, and early download numbers suggest Muse isn’t an instant runaway.
What to Watch
- Whether Muse’s daily download rate accelerates or plateaus in the coming week.
- Android adoption — currently rank No. 338 in Productivity — will be a key test of broader appeal.
- Privacy policy scrutiny and any regulatory reactions, especially given Meta’s recent settlement.
- Updates on integrations (Shop Pay, 1Password) and whether they drive usage.
- How Instinct and other agents respond with new features or marketing.