Meta's Muse AI app passes 10 million US downloads in 40 days, Sensor Tower says
In short
Sensor Tower data show Meta's Muse reached 10.2 million US downloads within 40 days of its September debut, making it the 12th app to do so. On its third-quarter earnings call, Meta said Muse has more than 10 million users, and Mark Zuckerberg said over a quarter of engaged users use it for shopping.
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Meta's AI app Muse has become the 12th app to reach 10 million US downloads within 40 days of launch, according to data from Sensor Tower reported by TechCrunch and 9to5Mac on 20 October. Sensor Tower counted 10.9 million downloads since the September debut, 10.2 million of them in the United States. [ 1 , 2 ]
Sensor Tower senior insights analyst Kara Lee said only 11 other apps have reached this milestone. The most recent was Meta's Threads in July 2023. Lee said the others were largely mobile games, such as Fortnite, PUBG Mobile and Pokémon GO, and that Disney+ was the only other non-game app besides Threads. 9to5Mac said nine of the 11 were mobile games. [ 1 , 2 ]
TechCrunch linked Muse's growth to Meta's ability to market new apps across its other services, which it described as having 3.6 billion daily active users. Per Sensor Tower, Meta allocated 39% of its total advertising spend to Muse in October, up from 23% in September. Muse ranks as the 21st largest brand in the US by advertising impressions this month, up from 73rd in September. [ 1 ]
Sensor Tower data also showed Muse retaining users better than competitors. In the US it had a 30% retention rate after 7 days and 23% after 14 days, compared with averages of 19% and 16% for rivals including ChatGPT, Claude and Grok. 9to5Mac reported that ChatGPT, Grok and Claude reached 3.7 million, 500,000 and 200,000 US downloads in their first 40 days. Muse had earlier spent 12 consecutive days at the top of the US App Store and has since slipped to second place, 9to5Mac said. [ 1 , 2 ]
9to5Mac added that ChatGPT's US downloads have fallen 25% over the past 30 days compared with the previous 30-day period. It said ChatGPT is the fourth most downloaded free app on the US App Store, with Claude seventh and Grok 34th. The outlet also said the report came amid fresh privacy concerns, after security researchers found that shared Muse conversations could expose sensitive personal and business information. [ 2 ]
On 21 October, TechCrunch reported that Meta said during its third-quarter earnings that Muse has over 10 million users and that users are adopting it for shopping and personal productivity. CNET quoted Zuckerberg as saying that over a quarter of Muse's engaged users, now totalling more than 10 million, were using it for shopping, with an average purchase size of over $200. [ 3 , 4 ]
Zuckerberg said Plaid had told Meta it had not seen activity like this on any other service. He said higher-than-expected volumes meant Meta had to work with Stripe to raise credit limits. CNET reported that he believes Muse revenue will eventually surpass that of Meta's existing family of apps, and that Muse is to be integrated into Meta's smart glasses, which launch next month. [ 4 ]
Why it matters
The figures put Muse ahead of rival AI apps on early downloads and retention, according to Sensor Tower. Meta's own claims about shopping volumes and future revenue come from the company and are not independently checked in the documents.
Key facts
- Sensor Tower counted 10.9 million Muse downloads since its September debut, 10.2 million of them in the United States. [ 1 ]
- Muse is the 12th app to reach 10 million US downloads within 40 days of launch; the most recent was Meta's Threads in July 2023. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Sensor Tower said Muse had a 30% retention rate after 7 days and 23% after 14 days in the US, against averages of 19% and 16% for rivals such as ChatGPT, Claude and Grok. [ 1 ]
- Meta allocated 39% of its total advertising spend to Muse in October, up from 23% in September, according to Sensor Tower. [ 1 ]
- On Meta's third-quarter earnings call, the company said Muse has more than 10 million users. [ 3 , 4 ]
- Zuckerberg said over a quarter of Muse's engaged users were using it for shopping, with an average purchase size of over $200. [ 4 ]
- CNET reported that Muse is to be integrated into Meta's smart glasses, which launch next month. [ 4 ]
Confirmed by several sources
Still unclear
- How Sensor Tower's download count relates to Meta's figure of more than 10 million users. The documents give downloads (10.9 million, 10.2 million in the US) from Sensor Tower and users or engaged users from Meta; they do not explain how the two measures compare.
- The shopping figures: over a quarter of engaged users shopping, with an average purchase size of over $200. Only CNET reports them, as statements by Zuckerberg on the earnings call; no document gives independent data.
- Zuckerberg's expectation that Muse revenue will eventually surpass that of Meta's existing family of apps. CNET reports this as his belief; no document gives a timeline or supporting figures.
- The privacy concerns around Muse. 9to5Mac says security researchers found that shared conversations could expose sensitive personal and business information, but the available text is cut off and gives no further detail.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- TechCrunch publishes Sensor Tower's data on Muse's 10 million US downloads (20 October). [ 1 ]
- 9to5Mac reports the same Sensor Tower findings, including comparisons with ChatGPT, Grok and Claude (20 October). [ 2 ]
- TechCrunch reports Meta's statement during Q3 earnings that Muse has over 10 million users, with shopping a top activity (21 October). [ 3 ]
- CNET reports Zuckerberg's remarks on Muse shopping from the earnings call (21 October). [ 4 ]