Meta bets big on consumer AI

Meta's new AI agent Muse took the spotlight at the company's annual Connect event, where CEO Mark Zuckerberg made clear that Facebook's parent company plans to push AI features everywhere.

A different path from rivals

While OpenAI and Anthropic focused on coding and enterprise tools, Meta moved in the opposite direction with a consumer focus and a cute, Tamagotchi-style AI device that Meta insists is for adults only.

Why Meta chose consumers

OpenAI and Anthropic are planning to go public this year or next year and need to make money at unprecedented scale. Meta may see a different opportunity in consumer AI where rivals are not focused.

Meta's consumer strength

Meta has an established track record of embedding itself in everyday people's lives through Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, making it smart for the company to continue pushing on the consumer side.

Muse finds unclaimed money

Sean O'Kane tested Muse and found it suggested scanning for unclaimed funds. Surprisingly, there were some in his name, and a check is on its way to him in the mail.

“I'll scan to see if you have any unclaimed funds”

A one-time party trick

O'Kane described the unclaimed funds feature as more a party-trick type thing rather than something that will drive ongoing usage, since it is not repeatable.

“that's more like a party trick-type thing”

The bigger financial vision

Meta plans to apply Muse to everyday finances by giving it access to credit card and Gmail information to cancel unused subscriptions and identify double charges, similar to services like Rocket Money.

Muse starts as a stranger

When O'Kane downloaded Muse, he was surprised it did not immediately prompt him to connect to Threads, Instagram or Facebook. It worked with him like a stranger at first, making him more willing to use it.

But it tries to grab everything

As O'Kane used Muse, it tried to grab and pull Facebook, Instagram and Threads into the system so it could learn more about him, revealing Meta's broader data collection strategy.

Apple's Siri sets the bar

O'Kane recently upgraded to a new iPhone with iOS and a new Siri that can control the phone in surprising and helpful ways. He would trust Siri with sensitive information far more than Muse.

The trust problem

O'Kane said he will never trust Meta the same way as Apple because Apple's business is not to sell ads. Meta's business model creates a fundamental barrier to user trust with sensitive data.

Meta's ad argument falls flat

Meta argues that the more it knows about users, the more accurate and interesting ads will be. O'Kane dismissed this, saying wake me up when we get to that fever dream.

“Meta's business is to sell you ads. And yes, they'll make the argument that the more they know about you, the more accurate and interesting the ads will be, wake me up when we get to that fever dream.”

Limited usefulness beyond the trick

Beyond finding unclaimed money, O'Kane has not found anything else that is really useful with Muse, though he acknowledges the consumer-focused design is why people are talking about it.

The consumer appeal remains

Despite trust concerns, Muse's consumer-friendly design and tailored interactions help explain why people are talking about it, even if its practical utility beyond one-time features remains unclear.