Meta’s Muse AI assistant topped app charts. Can it become a daily habit?

Meta’s Muse AI assistant has cleared an early hurdle: people are downloading it. After reaching No. 1 on U.S. free-app charts in September, Muse has surpassed 6.6 million cumulative downloads and reached 1.8 million daily active users, according to Citigroup estimates reported on October 6. The harder question is whether users will keep returning to an assistant that needs their trust and access to other services to complete everyday tasks.

Citigroup sees a much bigger opportunity. It estimates Muse could generate more than $27 billion in annual revenue by 2030, principally from transactions, with subscriptions providing the rest. That is a forecast, not revenue Muse is earning today, and it depends on the assistant becoming a routine starting point for searching, comparing options and buying online.

What does Meta’s Muse actually do?

Launched on September 8, Muse is designed to act on requests rather than only answer questions. Meta says it can use a browser, fill out forms, help book travel and prepare emails. It can continue working after a user closes the app, then return for approval before actions such as sending a message or making a purchase.

People can use Muse through its standalone app or WhatsApp. Meta initially announced a U.S. rollout on iOS, Android and the web, and later said the assistant was available in the U.S. and Canada. Most uses are free, while subscription plans are available for people who want more. Meta has also introduced tools for small businesses, including connections to services such as Shopify, Slack and QuickBooks.

Why downloads are only the first test

App rankings capture a burst of interest, not a lasting habit. Muse’s rise to the top of both the U.S. Apple App Store and Google Play free-app charts in September showed that Meta could attract attention quickly. Citigroup’s estimate of 1.8 million daily active users offers an early sign of continued use, but it does not establish how often those users delegate meaningful tasks or whether they will pay for the service.

For Muse to become a default choice, it must reliably save people effort. A useful answer may bring someone back occasionally; an assistant that completes a recurring chore could give them a reason to open it every day. Mistakes in a booking, an unwanted email or a confusing purchase approval could have the opposite effect. The value of an AI agent rests not just on what it can attempt, but on whether people are comfortable letting it act.

Trust is part of the business case

Using Muse across services can require access to personal information, including connected apps and email. Meta says users choose which services to connect and what the assistant may do with them. It says Muse seeks approval for sensitive actions, records its activity for users to review and lets them disconnect services or opt out of having their interactions used to train Meta’s AI models. Those are Meta’s descriptions of its safeguards, not a guarantee that every task will go as intended.

Citigroup’s revenue forecast assumes Muse can become an entry point to online commerce as well as a subscription product. Its estimate includes roughly $23 billion in transaction-related annual revenue and $4.5 billion from subscriptions by 2030. To approach that scale, Meta would need to turn early curiosity into sustained use—and persuade people that handing an assistant more work is worth the access it requires.