- Chart Lead: Meta’s Muse personal AI assistant topped U.S. free iPhone apps on September 19, ahead of ChatGPT.
- Task Approvals: Muse works through connected accounts, but Meta says users must approve purchases.
- Data Use: Meta uses sanitized task histories for training unless users opt out; stronger protection against Meta accessing data remains planned.
Meta’s personal AI assistant Muse has topped Apple’s U.S. chart of free iPhone apps, drawing attention to software that can shop, arrange bookings and work through users’ accounts. Its practical appeal is handing over the errands while keeping decisions such as purchase approval with the user.
Muse held first place ahead of ChatGPT on the U.S. free iPhone chart at 10:55 UTC on September 19. Meta executive Alexandr Wang had celebrated its rise a day earlier, describing it as the top app a week after launch.
a week after launch, muse is now the #1 app in the App Store!
it’s been SO exciting to see how much y’all have done with muse. we can’t wait to do more together! pic.twitter.com/0lwhijlpj3
— Alexandr Wang (@alexandr_wang) September 18, 2026
The U.S. App Store listing offers Muse as a free download with in-app purchases and requires iOS 18 or later. Meta’s September 8 launch also named Android, web and WhatsApp access in the United States.
From Finding Information to Doing the Errand
Muse is promoted by Meta as an agent that uses a browser to research, fill forms and complete tasks. It can keep working after the app closes, notifying the user when it needs input. Connecting accounts gives it information that otherwise would have to be supplied in each request. Hands-on reports about the assistant are mixed so far.
TechRadar’s Eric Hal Schwartz gave Muse access to his inbox and permission to write emails. It noticed an unread utility-company message, asked him to choose dates and prepared a reply for approval. Inbox access supplied the unfinished errand; Schwartz supplied the scheduling decision.
Entrepreneur Joe Devoy said he uploaded his car-insurance policy and asked for cheaper equivalent coverage. He claimed Muse found a policy saving $3,500 annually, bought it and canceled the old one in about five minutes.
Yesterday I uploaded my auto insurance policy to Meta @Muse and asked for a better rate with identical coverage. In ~5 minutes, it found a policy saving me $3,500 /year, bought it, and canceled my old one.
I knew I was overpaying. I’d abandoned several attempts to switch because… pic.twitter.com/HlIweoWN2K
— Joe Devoy (@JosephDevoy) September 10, 2026
Another user, posting as BuccoCapital Bloke, described Muse finding a green puffer jacket, applying discounts and buying it, as well as putting recipe ingredients into a Whole Foods cart.
Meta Muse is incredibly good. Was showing my wife a couple uses cases:
1. Search for green puffer jacket -> find live discount codes, add to cart, apply, buy at cheapest price
2. Find recipe and load Whole Foods cartShe was blown away. I don’t think META was up enough today…
— BuccoCapital Bloke (@buccocapital) September 10, 2026
On September 14, Brett Gordon said Muse could see only the first frame of a saved Instagram workout video and could not summarize it. His account describes a failed attempt within Meta’s own family of apps.
Muse fail. Tried using Muse from Meta. IG suggested I use it to summarize a workout post I had saved. Then it said it only could see the first frame so asked me to share the link. But Muse apparently can’t play videos from IG posts??? pic.twitter.com/48oo2FhVke
— Brett Gordon (@brett__gordon) September 14, 2026
Where the User Keeps Control
Meta’s safety documentation describes a separate permission controller, called Sentinel, that can allow, deny or request approval for an action. Previously authorized work can continue within its permitted scope. Purchases using a site’s stored payment details need approval. On new sites, Meta says issuance of a single-use payment credential also requires approval; that credential is limited to the merchant and amount.
That separation lets the assistant prepare work without giving it unrestricted spending authority.
Personal Access Comes With a Data Choice
Muse’s offers optional connections to email, calendars, Instagram, Facebook, health and fitness information, and finances. Meta’s developer-supplied privacy disclosure includes identity-linked categories such as contacts, user content, financial and health information, location, and browsing history.
Meta says Muse uses sanitized records of interactions and tool actions to train models, with an opt-out in settings. It says conversations and data in the user’s cloud computer are not shared with Meta’s advertising systems, although websites visited by the agent can associate browsing with the user.
The launch architecture still permits Meta to access data for service operations. Meta plans a stronger “Confidential VM,” a protected cloud computer intended to restrict that access, later in 2026. Approving a purchase and choosing how personal activity may be used for training therefore remain separate decisions.
What the Early Numbers Measure
Muse’s chart position is just one early snapshot of its reception. Sensor Tower estimated more than 83,000 U.S. iOS downloads. That earlier estimate excludes web and WhatsApp use.
At the September 19 check, the App Store listing displayed 4.9 out of 5 from a rounded 18,000 ratings. Ratings describe feedback from people who chose to rate the app; downloads count installations, while the chart orders apps at a particular moment.
Those figures and individual task reports leave open how many people keep using Muse and how consistently it completes their errands.
