Meta used its annual Connect event to put its new personal AI agent, Muse, at the center of its consumer strategy, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said, signaling that Facebook's parent company intends to push AI features into every part of its products. The announcement arrived during a week when OpenAI and Anthropic also launched new models.
The positioning sets Meta apart from other major AI developers, which have concentrated on coding and enterprise tools. According to discussion on TechCrunch's Equity podcast, that contrast reflects the different business pressures facing each company. OpenAI and Anthropic, with plans to go public, are under pressure to generate revenue at an unprecedented scale because of high costs and valuations, while Meta has an established record of embedding itself in everyday life through Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
Muse has been available for a couple of weeks, and TechCrunch's Sean O'Kane tested it. He said it resembles Meta's ground-up version of OpenClaw, the agent Meta acquired and integrated, and that having an agent in a phone app with a capable chatbot interface seems powerful. The agent suggested scanning for unclaimed funds, and it found some in his name, prompting a check that is on its way to him.
O'Kane described that experience as a one-time event rather than something repeatable, calling it more of a party trick than a driver of ongoing use. The more sustainable version, which Meta has emphasized, would involve connecting real financial accounts such as credit cards and Gmail so the agent could cancel unused subscriptions or spot double charges. O'Kane said that is where users hit a trust wall with Meta, and he raised the question of whether people will hand sensitive information to the company.
He noted that Muse did not immediately pull in his Threads, Instagram or Facebook context, which initially made him more willing to use it, but that it works to draw that information in over time. He said his business is selling ads, and that the argument that more data produces better ads has not convinced him. He added that he would more readily give such information to an Apple-made version, citing greater trust in Apple on cybersecurity and in its business model.
Beyond the unclaimed funds, O'Kane said he has not found other uses that seem especially useful. He credited Muse's consumer-focused style of interaction with helping generate attention, even as questions about trust in Meta's AI persist.
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