Zuckerberg announced the milestone on Wednesday during the company’s third-quarter earnings call, describing the app’s growth as strong as Meta intensifies its investment in artificial intelligence and seeks to expand its presence in the increasingly competitive consumer AI market.
According to the Meta chief executive, more than a quarter of Muse users have made purchases through the application, with the average transaction exceeding $200.
The figures suggest that the platform is gaining traction not only as a personal AI assistant but also as a potential driver of online commerce, offering Meta another avenue to generate revenue from its expanding AI services.
Investors responded positively to the company’s AI developments, with Meta’s shares rising by five per cent in after-hours trading on Wednesday.
Muse, which Meta says can assist users with everyday tasks such as sending emails and booking travel, quickly climbed to the top of Apple’s App Store rankings following its release. Its early performance represents an encouraging development for Zuckerberg as the company commits substantial resources to developing AI-powered products and services.
At Meta’s annual Connect event, Zuckerberg indicated that the company intended to monetise Muse by collecting a small commission from transactions conducted through the application.
“We expect to make money from Muse by taking a small fee from transactions,” Zuckerberg said at the event.
The proposed model would allow Meta to earn revenue when users purchase products or services through the app, potentially creating a new commercial opportunity beyond the advertising business that has traditionally driven the company’s earnings.
However, the app’s rapid adoption has also brought renewed attention to concerns about consumer trust and the handling of personal information, particularly given the extent of access an AI assistant may require to perform tasks effectively.
Kate Winick, a principal analyst at Forrester, identified consumer confidence as a critical factor that could influence the long-term success of Meta’s AI ambitions.
“The more information Muse has, the more effective it can be, and overall trust in Meta remains low,” Winick said.
She argued that Meta had developed a business model in which users continued engaging with its products despite persistent concerns about data privacy, provided the services delivered sufficient convenience and value.
“But Meta has cultivated a reputation that negates trust as a condition for engagement: consumers almost expect to have their data mismanaged in exchange for a high level of connectivity and utility, and have shown that they're willing to keep showing up as long as the product experience delivers,” she added.
Winick’s remarks underscore the challenge facing Meta as it expands AI services that may depend on access to personal preferences, communications and other information to deliver useful, tailored responses.
The company’s ability to persuade users to trust Muse with such information could prove important as it seeks to turn the application’s early popularity into sustained engagement and commercial growth.
The developments also come amid renewed scrutiny of Meta’s data protection practices. Earlier on Wednesday, a judge in New Mexico ordered the company to pay $25 billion after a jury found that it had misled consumers about its handling of personal data and failed to adequately address misinformation on Facebook.
The judgment adds to the legal challenges facing the technology company over its treatment of user information, even as it promotes new AI products designed to provide more personalised digital experiences.
While Muse’s first-month performance offers Meta an early indication of consumer demand for personal AI assistants, the company faces the dual task of converting that interest into sustainable revenue while addressing questions about privacy and public confidence.
For Zuckerberg, the app’s growing user base and shopping activity represent an early opportunity to demonstrate the commercial potential of Meta’s AI investments, although its longer-term prospects will depend on whether users continue to find the service useful and are comfortable entrusting it with more of their digital lives.