Meta's Muse Just Had a Breakout Launch. Is It a Game Changer for the Stock?

The days of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) being a laggard in cutting-edge technology may be over.

The social media giant's new personal AI agent, Muse, reached nearly 600,000 downloads in just its first five days after launching, according to data from SensorTower.

That puts Muse on a similar trajectory to ChatGPT, the breakthrough app that ignited the AI boom, and Muse could be a major disruptor as well.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

What is Meta Muse?

Muse is Meta's personal AI agent. It goes beyond conventional assistants like Siri and Alexa, and does real work rather than just answer questions.

Among the tasks it can handle are sending an email, booking travel, or making restaurant reservations. The app can also open a browser, fill out forms, and negotiate on behalf of the user, and it will develop a personalized plan for users based on their instructions. It can also pay for items using Link by Stripe and will soon be integrating with Shop Pay.

Meta is now open to the general public and is operating with a freemium model, like the chatbots. It's free for basic tasks, but charges $20 to $100 per month for premium tiers as usage goes up.

The app is now #1 in the App Store, topping ChatGPT, showing how strong its adoption has been. Meta also just launched Muse for Mac on Thursday, expanding its addressable market. Comments about the new agent on social media include "incredibly good," "really smooth at filling heavy forms," and "the computer use capability is insanely good." The reviews and the response indicate that the app is highly capable, though some observers have expressed privacy concerns.

What it means for Meta

Meta has been angling for a "killer app" for years, and it may have finally found one. The company has poured tens of billions into failed experiments like the metaverse under its Reality Labs banner, while its attempts to take smart glasses and VR devices mainstream have yet to gain significant traction.

However, Meta's efforts in Superintelligence and its acquisition of Scale AI to bring on Founder Alexandr Wang now seem to be paying off. The company has long tried to diversify away from advertising, both to cushion the business and demonstrate to Wall Street that it could add another meaningful revenue stream. Meta Muse could finally do that for the company.

Additionally, while the company can monetize the app through direct subscriptions, it could also easily add advertising to the free tier, as chatbots like ChatGPT have begun doing. That could make Muse highly lucrative over the long term.

Is it a game changer for Meta?

Despite its position as the #2 digital advertising business in the world and a consistent record of strong growth and huge margins, Meta has long been greeted with skepticism by Wall Street. The stock has historically traded at a low valuation for its growth rate. That seems to reflect its dependence on advertising, the lack of potential growth in its user base, its failed attempts to diversify with new technologies, and the criticism the company routinely faces over broader concerns about social media.

Meta stock jumped 6.6% on Sept. 9 after it launched Muse, showing overwhelming approval from the market for the new app, and the stock has moved higher from there.

Alphabet stock essentially doubled last year as Wall Street re-rated due to the success of Google Gemini and the resilience of its ad business. We could certainly see something similar from Meta if Muse establishes itself as the leading personal AI agent.

The stock trades at a discount to the S&P 500 with a price-to-earnings ratio of 22, even though it's expected to grow revenue 26% this year. If Muse continues on its breakneck adoption curve, Meta will have answered one of the biggest questions about the company, and the stock will have no choice but to move higher.

Jeremy Bowman has positions in Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet and Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.