Meta rolls out AI agent that can send emails and book travel

Meta on Tuesday rolled out Muse, an artificial intelligence agent that acts as a personal digital assistant by autonomously using software apps and websites on behalf of people.

It is one of the first times that a major tech company has introduced a mass market agent, which is a type of AI that researchers predict will become more sophisticated than simple chatbots. Many agents can already do the tasks of office workers, like filling out spreadsheets. But while AI agents like OpenClaw are a popular tool among developers and programmers, they have yet to catch on widely.

Muse can be spoken to as if it were a chatbot and instructed to send emails, book travel reservations, make online purchases and do more through an app or through WhatsApp, which Meta owns, the company said. Muse also connects to Meta’s other apps, like Instagram and Facebook, to learn more about its user. And it can be linked to third-party apps like Spotify, Ticketmaster, Shopify, Gmail and OpenTable.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has described Muse as Meta’s next breakthrough, which works “24/7 on your behalf to help achieve your goals and improve your life, your health, your relationships, your finances.”

Muse is among the first significant consumer AI products created by Meta Superintelligence Labs, which Zuckerberg established last year to propel his company forward in the AI race. Meta has been spending billions of dollars to develop foundational AI models and to build data centers so that it can compete with Google, OpenAI, Anthropic and others on the cutting edge of the rapidly evolving technology.

So far, Meta has had hits and misses. Products like its AI smart glasses have sold millions of pairs while stoking privacy concerns. In July, the company temporarily took down its Instagram AI image generator after widespread criticism about copyright and privacy.

The Muse app is free but has limits on usage, which people pay $20 or $100 a month to increase. The agent is only for adults and can be given a custom name and avatar.

When people link their accounts from OpenTable or Ticketmaster to Muse, it can send messages about upcoming concert tickets or restaurant reservations if it thinks its user might be interested, and book them with one click. Muse also connects to Stripe and Shopify, allowing it to make purchases on someone’s behalf. Muse is the first AI agent to be covered by Stripe’s warranties and return policy, in case it makes a purchasing mistake, Meta said.

Since AI is not foolproof, Meta says that the agent “will sometimes make mistakes” but that it was designed to “help the user stay in control without being overwhelmed.” The Silicon Valley company has created a program so people can report bugs in Muse for a reward. Meta has also said personal data collected by Muse, as well as the agent itself, is securely stored on its cloud servers and hardware.

The agent is powered by Muse Spark, the AI model that Meta released in April. The model was Meta’s first developed under Alexandr Wang, the company’s 29-year-old chief AI officer, whom Zuckerberg hired to remake the division last summer.

Muse Spark trails leading models from Anthropic and OpenAI, but Meta plans to release a more powerful model, internally called Watermelon, as soon as next month.

Meta said it also planned to add more features to Muse in the coming months, including integrating it with its smart glasses that have a camera and a voice assistant.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.