Meta’s Muse Tops ChatGPT as AI Agents Head for Checkout

First, it’s important to understand a key difference. A chatbot waits for a question and answers it. An agent takes the task and finishes it. Muse can book travel, send an email or negotiate a lower bill, Meta said in its launch announcement. It opens a browser and fills out forms on the user’s behalf. It keeps working after the user closes the app. It returns when it needs approval to send an email or make a purchase. It remembers details a user mentioned once and makes suggestions unprompted.

Instinct, another personal AI agent, reaches users by text message. There is no app to open. The startup still runs a waitlist, so its audience is far smaller than Meta’s. Signing up gives the agent broad authority. Instinct can read and store a copy of the data in any account a user connects, its terms state. It can also make purchases and accept agreements in the user’s name. Those commitments bind the user as if they had made them personally.

A Test Drive Shows Promise and Lag

In a PYMNTS test, Muse felt more personal than a chatbot. Asked to order toilet paper, it returned options to choose from. That took more than 5 minutes. It couldn’t shop Amazon or Walmart until the account credentials were shared through a secure link. Payment ran through Link, the Stripe checkout wallet.