Zuckerberg to unveil new AI products as Meta’s Muse app tops charts

Meta’s AI app Muse has done something that seemed implausible a year ago: it knocked ChatGPT off the top of the US App Store charts. The personal AI agent, which launched on September 8, climbed to No. 1 among free iOS apps by mid-September, racking up roughly 2.5 million downloads across iOS and Android in the process.

Now, with Mark Zuckerberg scheduled to deliver a keynote at Meta’s annual Connect conference on September 23, the company is riding a wave of momentum that has investors and competitors paying very close attention.

From zero to chart-topper in two weeks

Muse’s trajectory has been steep. The app logged over 83,000 downloads in its first two days. By day five, that number had ballooned to around 730,000. By the third week of September, total installs had crossed the 2.5 million mark, according to Sensor Tower data.

Muse isn’t a chatbot. It’s positioned as a personal AI agent, one that can autonomously book travel, manage emails, handle daily errands, and even secure refunds on your behalf.

Zuckerberg himself has described Muse as a tool for “personal superintelligence,” reportedly using it for things like planning weekend baking projects and getting feedback on his MMA training.

The app overtook ChatGPT as the No. 1 free iOS app in the US around September 18-20, a symbolic milestone given that OpenAI’s chatbot had essentially owned that category for the better part of two years.

How Muse actually works

Under the hood, Muse runs on what Meta calls the Muse Spark model family, operating within secure virtual machines. Think of it less like a conversational AI and more like a digital assistant that actually does things, rather than just telling you how to do them.

The integration list reads like a who’s who of consumer tech platforms: Gmail, Spotify, Shopify, WhatsApp, Instacart, Expedia, and Stripe.

Meta is monetizing Muse through a tiered subscription model. There’s a free tier, a $20-per-month plan, and a $100-per-month premium option. The company has also struck partnerships with Instacart, Shopify, Expedia, and Stripe, and notably offers warranties on purchases made through the app.

Early user feedback on social media has highlighted practical wins: people posting about Muse successfully negotiating lower bills or securing refunds from companies.

The app launched initially on iOS, Android, and web in the US, with a Mac version following on September 17.

Wall Street is paying attention

Meta’s stock surged more than 10% on trading days tied to Muse’s launch and its climb up the App Store rankings. Wells Fargo raised its price target on Meta to $796, while analysts at Evercore ISI flagged Muse’s performance as a compelling indicator that Meta’s massive AI investments are beginning to pay off. Those investments are estimated at around $200 billion.

The timing of Zuckerberg’s Connect keynote on September 23 is no accident. Meta is clearly looking to capitalize on the Muse momentum by unveiling additional AI products while attention is at its peak.

What this means for the AI race

Muse’s success complicates the narrative that OpenAI has an insurmountable lead in consumer AI. Muse didn’t beat ChatGPT by being a better chatbot. It beat it by being a different kind of product entirely, one that emphasizes doing over talking.

Privacy concerns are the obvious counterweight. An AI agent that can access your email, make purchases, and manage your calendar has access to an extraordinary amount of personal data. The company says Muse operates within secure virtual machines.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.