Meta is regaining momentum with Wall Street following Tuesday’s launch of Muse, its latest artificial intelligence application. While early download figures indicate a slower ramp-up compared to previous Meta products, the app has already secured the No. 2 position on the iOS App Store top charts in the United States, according to data from Sensor Tower.
As of this week, Muse has recorded more than 83,000 downloads on iOS within the U.S., its only available market at present. The app has climbed steadily since its Wednesday debut, moving up from the fourth position to No. 2. However, its Android performance on Google Play is significantly weaker, sitting at No. 338 in the Productivity category, with download numbers not yet available. These statistics also exclude usage via the web and WhatsApp integrations.
When benchmarked against Meta’s earlier launches, Muse’s initial traction appears modest. Threads attracted over 4.3 million downloads on its launch day, while the Meta AI app garnered 108,000 U.S. downloads during its debut. In the broader consumer AI landscape, OpenAI’s ChatGPT saw more than half a million installs in its first week, averaging approximately 83,300 daily downloads—a pace Muse has only recently matched after twice that duration.
Despite the slower start, the launch is viewed as a critical bet for Meta’s future in agentic AI. The company is positioning itself as a leader in tools that perform tasks on behalf of users, a strategic move comparable to its rebranding from Facebook to pursue metaverse ambitions. The race for consumer-facing agents is intense, with competitors including Google’s Gemini Spark and Anthropic’s Claude Cowork.
The most direct rival for general-purpose, user-friendly agents is currently Instinct, a startup valued at $2.5 billion after raising $350 million. Instinct has drawn praise from Silicon Valley insiders for its rapid feature rollout, including recent additions such as email addresses for all users, Stripe and 1Password integrations, and a location-sharing feature. Notably, Instinct is also developing a social network layer allowing AI agents to coordinate plans with those of a user’s friends.
Some analysts suggest Instinct’s approach to building a social graph based on real-life interactions could ultimately hold more value than Meta’s existing friend network, which mixes close acquaintances with public figures. However, Muse’s launch timing may have faced headwinds due to lingering privacy concerns. Meta recently agreed to an $18 billion multistate settlement regarding social media’s impact on children and has faced numerous regulatory fines and scandals over data privacy violations in recent years.
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