Meta's AI agent muse gains momentum as top U.S. app

Meta's AI agent Muse has climbed to the No. 2 position on the U.S. App Store's Top Charts, according to Sensor Tower data, which reported over 83,000 iOS downloads. While this marks progress, Muse's launch lags behind Meta's previous successes, such as Threads and Meta AI, which saw significantly higher download numbers. ChatGPT's rapid adoption also highlights Muse's slower start, with the latter achieving its 83,000 downloads in twice the time. Muse's Android version, however, has struggled, ranking No. 338 in the Productivity category on Google Play. The app is also available via web and WhatsApp, but these platforms are not included in the download metrics. Meanwhile, Instinct, a competing AI agent, has gained traction with a $2.5 billion valuation and recent features like email addresses and a social network for coordinating plans. Instinct's ability to build a social graph based on real-life interactions is seen as a potential advantage over Meta's friend graph. Muse's launch coincided with Meta's $18 billion settlement over consumer harms, raising questions about its impact on the app's reception.