Meta's new AI assistant Muse gets things done — but knows unsettlingly much about you
Meta has launched Muse, an AI productivity assistant that can handle tasks like email cleanup and online shopping, but a hands-on test found it had gathered surprisingly detailed personal information from sources not even visible to the user.
Meta has released Muse, its AI assistant marking the company's first serious push into productivity tools after years of focusing mainly on entertainment. Muse runs tasks through a cloud-based virtual computer and is pitched as a way to handle busywork such as sorting emails, online shopping, and trip planning.
A Verge reporter tested the tool firsthand. Connecting Muse to a Gmail account required granting access to read and delete messages; the sign-in process glitched on mobile but worked on a laptop, where Muse cleared out thousands of unwanted promotional emails. Meta says Muse only exchanges data with third-party apps to the extent needed for them to function, and does not share user information with advertisers.
After linking an Amazon account, Muse successfully picked out and purchased workout tops matching a requested size, style, and color, first checking whether other items already in the cart should be removed.
Unexpected findings
The assistant refused to generate images of certain recognizable characters, but readily created a video and images resembling an Apple product launch event, complete with fictional devices and, notably, mislabeled app icons.
More strikingly, Muse's AI-generated news feed included stories from the region where the reporter happened to be visiting family — information Muse said it pulled from the shipping address on a recent Amazon order. Asked how it knew the reporter's specific interests, Muse explained it read data through the Instagram account's API, which surfaces more detail than what's visible in the app itself — more than what appears in Instagram's own "ad topics" settings. Meta did not immediately respond to The Verge's questions about what data Muse can access from Instagram and Facebook.
Overall, Muse performed reliably on everyday tasks, but the extent of personal information it gathered from sources inaccessible to the user herself left a lingering unease about trusting it with email access and payment details.
