Meta’s Muse AI agent is taking off: What makes it different, why Amazon blocked it

Meta's Muse AI agent has quickly gained traction in the AI world since its launch earlier this month. The app, powered by Meta's large language model Muse Spark, allows users to delegate a range of tasks across the web, such as filling out forms, managing emails, booking travel, and making purchases. Muse works by connecting to various apps and services on a user's device, including email, calendar, payments, health apps, smart home devices, e-commerce, dining apps, WhatsApp, and social media accounts.

When a task requires a tool that doesn't exist or a locally installed app lacks a supporting connector, Muse creates one on the go.

Despite its rapid success, Muse recently faced a setback when Amazon blocked it from accessing its shopping site. Amazon cited privacy and security concerns, claiming that Muse bypasses Amazon's personalization and features, potentially capturing credentials and scraping account data. The online retail giant demanded that Meta remove Muse from its platform, stating that agentic third-party applications like Muse have the same obligations as other online services, including food delivery and delivery services apps.

The controversy highlights the growing battle between e-commerce platforms, online services, and consumer AI agent vendors. Amazon has previously blocked Google and OpenAI's shopping bots for similar reasons. However, Muse's popularity and potential revenue impact have piqued the interest of investors and researchers alike. The surge in downloads and Meta's stock rally suggest that consumer demand for agentic AI agents, such as Muse, is real and growing.