Meta Pushes Muse as AI App Surpasses 3.4 Million Downloads

Meta’s new Muse AI app is gaining momentum, helped by strong early reviews and an aggressive promotional push across the company’s platforms.

Muse had surpassed 2.5 million downloads at the start of the week and reached more than 3.4 million by Thursday, according to estimates from Sensor Tower. The app launched September 8 and is currently available only in the U.S. and Canada.

Meta also highlighted Muse at its annual Meta Connect conference, where it previewed features including video chat with the Muse avatar, computer use on Macs, a dedicated email address, additional connectors and future smart glasses integrations. The app runs on Meta’s Muse Spark AI model.

Download estimates show strong early traction

Market intelligence firms differ on Muse’s exact install count. Apptopia estimates the app has reached 4.3 million downloads, including about 2.6 million on iOS, while Appfigures estimates roughly 2.3 million total installs, split almost evenly between iOS and Android.

Sensor Tower estimates Muse reached 2.8 million downloads during its first two weeks and averaged 55% day-over-day download growth from September 8 through September 17. For comparison, it estimated ChatGPT averaged 24% daily download growth during its first 10 days.

Muse rose to No. 1 on the U.S. App Store on September 18 and reached the top of Google Play a day later. Sensor Tower also reported that daily active users increased 27% on Wednesday after Meta Connect concluded.

Meta is putting its distribution network behind Muse

Much of Muse’s early adoption appears organic. Still, Meta is increasingly using Facebook and Instagram to promote the app to its existing audience, applying some of the same distribution advantages that helped Threads grow rapidly.

Meta’s Head of Threads, Connor Hayes, recently explained in an interview with Business Insider that marketing Muse requires a different approach from promoting Threads. Instead of simply recommending content based on user interests, Meta can build promotional units demonstrating specific tasks Muse could perform for individual users.

Sensor Tower said Meta began running house ads for Muse on September 9, one day after launch. Within 10 days, Muse accounted for most house advertising promotions across Meta properties, ahead of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

Meta has also expanded Muse advertising to mobile ad networks and competing social platforms, including Reddit, TikTok and YouTube. By September 22, Sensor Tower ranked Muse among the top 10 brands by advertising spend.

Even so, paid promotion does not appear to explain all of Muse’s early growth. Sensor Tower estimated that ads promoting the app accounted for only 6% of its ad impressions from launch through September 19.