[Into the World of AI] Meta's 'Muse' Marks Turning Point for B2C Market Surge... Enhanced Security Vulnerability Warnings

AI acts autonomously even when the app is inactive
Risk of hackers accessing VMs storing personal data

As Meta's new artificial intelligence (AI) agent "Muse" is gaining explosive popularity, there are growing expectations that Muse will mark a turning point for the agent market, shifting it from an enterprise-centered landscape to a true business-to-consumer (B2C) market. With Muse showing results that surpass the initial download and active user figures of ChatGPT, experts predict renewed momentum for both AI and semiconductor-related stocks, which had temporarily slowed down amid calls to "moderate the pace of AI advancement."

On September 27, industry analysts said that Muse's record-breaking number of downloads could lead to an expanded structural demand for AI infrastructure and software across the board. Previously, Meta’s agents faced uncertainty around their launch timing, particularly before and after the second quarter earnings announcement, as well as concerns over funding massive large language model (LLM) development. However, the release of Muse appears to be easing these market worries.

Muse allows users to link email, calendar, and payment apps to seamlessly manage personal schedules, spending, and life goals within the application. It serves as an "AI assistant," able to compose emails, make travel reservations, and complete shopping tasks on behalf of the user. A key feature is that Muse learns from the user's data and acts autonomously even when the app is not actively in use.

Tasks can be delegated to Muse just like chatting, and users can customize the agent’s name, avatar, and tone. Muse also remembers what is important to the user and proactively makes suggestions without being prompted. The app leverages stored content—for example, converting a saved recipe reel into a shopping list. For major decisions such as payments, however, users are required to give final confirmation, thereby helping prevent potential operational risks.

Muse is currently available only in North America, but global expansion is anticipated. Basic app usage is free, but if users exceed certain limits, AI monetization is pursued through a subscription model: "Muse Power" at $20 per month and "Muse Maximum" at $100 a month. Within just two weeks of its launch, Muse became the #1 free app in both the United States and Canada app stores.

Minseong Koh, a researcher at NH Investment & Securities, commented, "The momentum from Muse is expected to drive overall AI demand," and added, "While agents have so far focused mainly on the business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-government (B2G) sectors, they are now poised to expand into the B2C market, which has an enormous end-user pool."

ChatGPT Image Generation.

However, despite its record number of downloads, a security vulnerability has been discovered in Muse, which is an area to watch going forward. According to an exclusive report from U.S. IT outlet The Information on September 26 (local time), Meta has acknowledged the security flaw discovered by an external researcher and has moved to strengthen warning notifications.

The vulnerability—identified via Meta's bug bounty program—had the potential to allow attackers and hackers access to users’ personal data stored on dedicated cloud-based virtual machines (VMs).

If a user sends Muse a web link containing malware and asks the agent to summarize or organize it, they could be exposed to hacking attempts. In response, Meta has decided to display prominent warning messages whenever the agent suspects a website might be infected with malicious code, to ensure users can quickly recognize possible threats.

Muse’s launch event is simultaneously fueling renewed expectations for AI demand as well as highlighting the escalating importance of AI security. Researcher Koh added, "Muse will lead to simultaneous growth in essential AI infrastructure and software demand," and noted, "Going forward, the importance of host central processing units (CPUs) that coordinate across agents, optical networks that support continuous inter-agent communication, and robust cybersecurity to protect payment and account privileges, will become only more pronounced."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.