Meta’s Muse AI Agent Overtakes ChatGPT, Claude, and Grok to Become No. 1 Free App in U.S

Meta’s new Muse AI agent has surged to the top of Apple’s U.S. App Store, overtaking ChatGPT just days after launch and giving Mark Zuckerberg an early win in the race to bring AI agents to mainstream consumers.

Muse became the No. 1 free iPhone app in the U.S. on Friday, ahead of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, according to Sensor Tower data cited by CNBC. The app recorded about 730,000 downloads during the roughly five days following its September 8 release.

Sensor Tower said Muse’s cumulative downloads during that initial post-launch window surpassed ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude and SpaceXAI’s Grok. The research firm cautioned that the apps launched across Apple’s App Store and Google Play on different schedules, making direct comparisons imperfect.

Meta’s Muse AI Agent Overtakes ChatGPT as Downloads Surge to 730,000

The early surge puts Muse at the center of Meta’s latest AI push. The app runs on the company’s Muse Spark family of models and gives users access to personal AI agents capable of handling tasks across the web, including filling out forms, organizing inboxes and helping manage online activity.

Meta is betting that AI agents can move beyond developer circles and become everyday consumer software.

“I think up to this point most of the agentic use cases have not really been for normal people,” Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon told CNBC in a “Squawk on the Street” interview on Monday. “Now you’ve got Meta’s Muse and other agents out there that are starting to maybe get more potential for more broad-based adoption.”

Muse’s early success brings a bigger test

The App Store ranking is an eye-catching start, yet downloads alone will not determine whether Muse becomes a lasting consumer product. Several AI apps have seen sharp launch spikes before fading from the top of the charts.

OpenAI’s Sora and Meta’s own Vibes video feature both generated heavy early interest following their releases, showing how quickly AI products can attract attention without guaranteeing long-term retention.

Muse faces another challenge that could prove just as important: trust.

Amazon has blocked the Muse bot from accessing its site, GeekWire reported late Sunday, citing privacy and security concerns tied to third-party agents acting on shoppers’ behalf.

“We think it’s fairly straightforward that third-party applications that offer to make purchases on behalf of customers from other businesses should operate openly and respect service provider decisions about whether or not to participate,” an Amazon spokesperson told GeekWire.

Shopify is taking a different approach. CEO Tobias Lütke said Monday that Shopify is working with Meta to support agentic checkout through Muse, giving the app access to merchants that choose to participate.

Meta is offering Muse for free, alongside paid plans priced at $20 and $100 per month based on usage. That gives the company a potential subscription business tied to AI agents, separate from its advertising operation.

Investor enthusiasm has followed the launch. Meta shares jumped more than 11% on Monday, and Wells Fargo raised its price target to $796, according to multiple reports.

Muse’s first two weeks have given Meta something every new consumer AI product wants: attention, downloads and a No. 1 ranking.

The harder question starts now. Meta needs to prove that people will keep using Muse once the novelty fades, and that consumers and major internet platforms will trust an AI agent with access to their digital lives.