Meta shares soar after launch of Muse AI

Meta's shares reached new heights as the AI-driven Muse assistant was unveiled to the public. The stock surged by 4.5 percent on Thursday, marking its largest single-day increase since April 2025. The social media giant's Muse AI agent, which can perform tasks like booking travel, sending emails, and making purchases, has generated significant investor excitement.

This comes after a period of volatility, with the share price dropping to $525 per share in late March following two court rulings concerning Meta's impact on young people's mental health. The company's financials were also hit due to AI spending, which could total $145 billion this year.

Muse was launched on September 8 in the United States and September 18 in Canada. Currently restricted to users over 18, the free AI assistant comes with usage limits, but a subscription model for $20 or $100 per month offers more intensive use. In just two weeks, Muse surpassed 1.3 million downloads for OpenAI's ChatGPT when it launched in May 2023, with 1.8 million downloads within North America alone.

During Meta's Connect conference, it was announced that Muse would soon be available on its smart glasses and that partnerships with retailers like Walmart had been established, allowing the AI to earn commissions on purchases. However, e-commerce giant Amazon temporarily blocked Muse from using its platform due to concerns over Muse's identification and data storage practices. Meta maintains that Muse does not see passwords or payment methods.

JPMorgan recently raised its price target for Meta to $920, predicting that Muse could become the most widely used consumer AI application since ChatGPT. While some analysts remain cautious, Meta's potential growth is bolstered by its massive user base, exceeding 3.6 billion daily users. Meta's Threads app, launched in 2023 to compete with X (formerly Twitter), attracted 100 million sign-ups in five days but has since seen slower growth, with around 140 million active daily users as of January.