Wall Street expects Meta's AI agent to shape into a new revenue engine

On September 22, Wall Street analysts are optimistic about Meta Platforms, predicting its new AI agent Muse could create a fresh revenue source for the social media conglomerate and transform the company's AI monetization strategy. Launched on September 8, Muse is an AI assistant capable of tasks like sending emails, booking travel, and conducting transactions such as selling a car on behalf of users. The free version of Muse is available, with premium subscriptions at $20 and $100 per month for heavier usage.

Since its debut, Meta's stock has surged more than 20%, outpacing the Magnificent 7 group of US tech companies, and has added over $200 billion in market capitalization, reaching its highest level in over seven months. J.P. Morgan analysts have stated that they believe Muse has the potential to become the most widely used consumer AI application since ChatGPT, crediting its early success to strong product-market fit, Meta's extensive distribution, and a free tier that lowers barriers to entry.

Muse, currently available on iOS and Android in the US and Canada, has amassed 2.8 million downloads in its first 12 days, slightly surpassing OpenAI's ChatGPT's performance in the same timeframe, which had 1.3 million downloads. Early reviews suggest that users are enthusiastic about Muse's functionality, especially its ability to execute multi-step tasks and workflows with minimal user interference.

This positive reception has triggered a tech rally on Wall Street, driving Meta shares up more than 11% and bolstering chipmakers, including AMD and Intel. AMD has even reached a $1 trillion valuation for the first time.