Meta's Muse app outpaces ChatGPT's early mobile download numbers

Meta's newest AI application, Muse, may be shaping up to be the company's next big success, according to fresh estimates from market intelligence firm Apptopia. The data shows that during its first 12 days on the market, Muse was downloaded more times in the US and Canada than ChatGPT was during its first 12 days after launching on mobile.

To make a fair comparison, Apptopia limited its analysis to iOS data only for both apps in the US and Canada, since ChatGPT initially launched on iOS alone, while Muse is available on both the App Store and Google Play, though only in those two countries. Within that narrowed dataset, Muse recorded 1.8 million downloads compared with ChatGPT's 1.3 million. Across all platforms and regions, Muse reached 2.8 million total installs worldwide in its first 12 days.

Continued growth after launch

Muse's momentum hasn't slowed. The app climbed from its initial No. 2 spot on the US App Store right after launch to now sitting at No. 1, surpassing ChatGPT. Another analytics firm, Appfigures, had previously noted that Muse crossed 1 million downloads at that point.

Apptopia's figures also show that Muse's daily active users in the US now exceed what ChatGPT had at a comparable point after its launch — 642,000 versus 231,000. Even narrowing the comparison to iOS only, Muse still leads with 359,000 daily active users.

Meta's cross-promotion advantage

Apptopia found that more than 95% of Muse's users are also Facebook users, and 63% use Instagram, pointing to strong ties within Meta's broader ecosystem. The company has previously used cross-promotion successfully with Threads, which grew to over 500 million users through marketing and integration across Meta's major platforms. Muse also works within WhatsApp, which could provide an additional boost.

Apptopia's numbers are third-party estimates rather than official figures, and Meta has not yet publicly commented on Muse's early performance.