Meta launches personal AI agent, Muse, emphasizes safety and privacy

Meta launched on Tuesday a personal artificial intelligence agent , Muse, for people 18 and over who are looking for help with day-to-day tasks like schedules, shopping and, in the company's words, turning “long-term goals into action plans.”

The parent company of Instagram and Facebook is stressing the safety and privacy features of the agent, which for now is only available in the U.S. Muse, Meta said, runs on a dedicated, secure virtual machine that houses both the agent and the user's data.

People can message the agent in a separate app, called Muse, or message it in WhatsApp. It can handle simple tasks like sending an email or booking travel, or bigger, long-term goals like creating a yearlong exercise plan or setting up a new business.

“Once a person shares a goal with Muse, it helps them develop a personalized plan and coordinate their time and resources, then advances the work on its own. It can open a browser, fill out forms, and negotiate on their behalf,” Meta said in a blog post.

Tech companies are touting AI agents as the next step after chatbots, which can answer questions and retrieve information but won't take action on the user's behalf.

At its most basic level, an AI agent works like a traditional, human-crafted computer program that executes a job, like launching an application. Combined with an AI large language model, however, it can search for knowledge that enables it to complete tasks without explicit, step-by-step instructions. That means, instead of just helping you draft the language of an email, it can theoretically handle the whole process — receiving a message from your coworker, figuring out what you might want to say, and firing off the response on its own.

For Meta, the agent fits into CEO Mark Zuckerberg's vision of AI superintelligence that's available to “everyone.” He outlined his vision last month in a 6,500-word essay published online.

In the document derided by critics as fantastical, Zuckerberg said his company is working toward an era where everyone will have the tools to create new businesses, receive Ph.D.-level tutoring and provide personalized lifestyle tips.

“Everyone will have an exceptionally capable personal agent that understands you, your goals, and everything you care about. Your agent will work 24/7 on your behalf to improve your relationships, health, career, finances, home management, hobbies, and more,” Zuckerberg wrote. “It will free up time for the things you enjoy, and help you accomplish more than you could otherwise.”

The question is, will people actually use it?