Pull up a chair. The coffee’s hot, the screens are glowing, and somewhere between the headlines and the opening bell, the market has started talking… about Meta’s new Muse.

And judging by what happened to Meta’s share price last week, quite a few investors were listening.

Meta shares jumped roughly 13% over the week, as investors began getting rather excited about its new personal AI agent, Muse.

But what exactly is Muse?

Well, this isn’t simply another chatbot waiting patiently for you to ask it a question.

Meta describes Muse as a personal AI agent designed to actually do things on your behalf. It can send emails, book travel, fill in forms, shop online and work through longer-running tasks after you’ve closed the app.

In other words, instead of asking AI:

“How do I book a holiday?”

You could potentially just tell Muse:

“Book me one.”

Which, let’s be honest, is rather more useful than being given seventeen paragraphs explaining how to do it yourself.

And that distinction could be rather important.

Because Muse isn’t just about answering questions.

It’s about becoming the place where the question gets acted upon.

And investors appear to be taking notice.

Muse reached No. 1 on Apple’s U.S. App Store, overtaking ChatGPT, while also reaching the top spot on Google Play in the US and Canada.

Sensor Tower estimated around 2.8 million downloads in its first two weeks, with later estimates putting downloads above 3.4 million.

Now, becoming the most downloaded app doesn’t automatically make you the next technological giant.

If it did, we’d all be investing in whatever game happens to be keeping teenagers awake at two in the morning.

But it does tell us something rather interesting.

People are downloading it.

And that’s where Meta’s enormous ecosystem comes into play.

Muse can operate through its standalone app and WhatsApp, while Meta is building connections that allow the agent to interact with other services.

And then there’s the hardware.

Meta is bringing Muse towards its AI glasses, potentially taking the technology from something we stare at on a phone to something we simply talk to while getting on with our lives.

And suddenly, the story becomes considerably bigger than one AI application.

Imagine the consumer no longer opening Amazon, a travel website, an email application or half a dozen other services.

They simply tell Muse what they want.

Muse finds it.

Muse organises it.

Muse potentially buys it.

The internet, in other words, starts becoming less about where you go and more about who does the going for you.

That could have some rather significant implications for businesses.

Of course, there are already bumps in the road.

Amazon has reportedly blocked purchases through Muse on its platform, highlighting the battle that could emerge between AI agents and the companies whose businesses they are trying to navigate.

And then there are the obvious questions around privacy, security, reliability and, perhaps most importantly:

How does Meta eventually make serious money from Muse?

Because downloading an app is one thing.

Building a hugely profitable new business around it is another.

But perhaps that’s precisely why the market is starting to pay attention.

Meta already has Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

It has billions of users.

It has an enormous advertising business.

It has AI models.

It has the hardware.

And now it has Muse.

An AI agent potentially sitting across much of that ecosystem.

So perhaps last week’s 13% move wasn’t simply the market getting excited about another shiny AI toy.

Perhaps investors are beginning to consider whether Meta could be building another platform inside the platform.

And here’s the slightly cheeky bit.

13% in a week sounds like the market has already had its pudding.

But perhaps…

it’s only just been handed the menu.

And that, I think, is the interesting bit about Meta’s new Muse.

Not whether it becomes the next big thing.

Not whether the share price goes up or down next week.

But whether Meta has just taken another step towards changing how we interact with the internet, and where the money might eventually flow when we do.

Because the market may have spent years asking whether AI can answer our questions.

Muse is asking whether AI can start doing the shopping, booking the holiday and filling out the paperwork as well.

And somewhere in Menlo Park, I suspect Meta is quite happy for us to ask the question.

Anyway, till next time, all of you trade safe. And remember, keep listening. Markets rarely shout before they move.

By James Trescothick
Head of Market Research and Market Analysis

Risk Disclaimer: This information is for educational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Financial markets involve risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. Always conduct your own research and seek professional advice before making investment decisions.