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Meta Muse explained: what the AI agent does and how it compares to OpenClaw

By Tried AI Tools · Published · Updated

Short answer

Muse is Meta's personal AI agent, launched September 8, 2026. Unlike a chatbot, it carries out tasks for you, such as sending emails with your approval, booking travel, filling in forms and shopping, from a private cloud computer Meta runs for each user. As of October 2026 it is free for most use in the US and Canada (adults 18+), with paid plans reported at $20 and $100 a month, and Meta says its design was heavily inspired by the open-source agent OpenClaw.

Based on the official documentation and reporting as of October 2026, here is what Meta Muse is, what it can do, what it costs, and how it lines up against OpenClaw, the open-source agent that inspired it.

What is Meta Muse?

Muse is a personal AI agent made by Meta. You tell it a goal and it does the work: it opens a browser, fills in forms, sends emails with your approval, books travel and shops. Meta announced it on September 8, 2026, calling it "the world's first personal AI agent built for everyone."

The key difference from a chatbot is action. A chatbot answers questions. Muse takes steps on your behalf and keeps going after you close the app. According to Meta's announcement and PBS NewsHour, it can:

Muse runs on Muse Spark, which Meta calls its "most capable model to date, built for real-world agentic work." Meta released Muse Spark 1.3 on September 2, 2026, aimed at agentic and coding tasks.

The parts, in plain words

Muse has a few named pieces that matter for how it works and how it protects your data. The most important are the private cloud computer it runs on, the watchdog that approves its internet traffic, and the connectors that link it to other services. Here they are in one place.

Term What it means
Personal AI agent An AI that does tasks across your apps, not just answers questions
Muse Spark Meta's AI model family that powers Muse
Muse Secure VM A dedicated virtual machine (a private computer in Meta's cloud) holding your agent and your data
Sentinel A separate agent that must approve anything Muse sends to the internet
Muse Confidential VM A planned version encrypted with a key only you hold, so Meta cannot access it. Axios reports it is expected before the end of 2026
Connector A built-in link to another service, like Walmart, Notion or PayPal. This is Muse's version of plugins
Custom connector A way to plug in a service Meta does not support yet
Computer use Muse operating apps on your own Mac, with your permission

Meta says "nothing Muse does reaches the internet unless the Sentinel approves it." Muse also cannot see your stored passwords or payment methods, and you get a full audit trail of what it did.

How to get Muse and set it up

You can use Muse in the Muse app on iOS or Android, on the web at muse.ai, or by messaging it inside WhatsApp. You must be 18 or older, according to PBS NewsHour. It launched in the US and, as of late September 2026, Meta lists the US and Canada.

Steps, based on Meta's announcement and TechCrunch's launch report:

  1. Download the app or open muse.ai, then sign in.
  2. Give your agent a name, pick an avatar, and choose how it talks to you.
  3. Choose which apps and services it can reach, and how much access each one gets.
  4. Add connectors for shopping, payments, travel or work tools. You can disconnect any of them later.
  5. On a Mac, download Muse for Mac from ai.meta.com/muse/download if you want it to work with your files and apps.

Muse for Mac launched on September 17, 2026, per TechCrunch.

Canada is the only market outside the US so far. iPhone in Canada reported Meta's announcement on September 18, 2026, with iOS and web live and Android still coming there. Meta's small-business post on September 29 confirms "the US and Canada."

What Muse costs

Muse is free for most use, with two paid plans for heavy users. Meta says it is "free for most of what people need, with subscription plans for people who want to do more." Meta's announcement does not list prices, but TechCrunch and Axios report the plans below.

Plan Price Notes
Free $0 A usage meter shows what percentage of your usage is left
Power $20 a month Reported by TechCrunch
Maximum $100 a month Reported by TechCrunch

Axios reports there are no ads inside Muse. Instead, Mark Zuckerberg said Meta expects to "profit by taking a small fee from transactions" over time, per Yahoo Finance. For how this compares with other AI subscriptions, see our AI chatbot prices compared guide.

Connectors and new features

Connectors are how Muse reaches other services, and Meta is adding them quickly. At launch, Muse could pay through Stripe's Link, with Shop Pay and 1Password support also named. At Connect on September 23, 2026, Meta added many retail and work connectors, plus voice, video and Mac features.

From Meta's Connect 2026 roundup:

TechCrunch says you will soon be able to video chat in real time with an avatar of your agent, powered by a new model called Muse Realtime Avatar. It says Meta got more than 1,500 applications to build connectors in under a week.

For businesses, Muse for Small Business launched September 29. It connects to Asana, Box, Canva, Dropbox, Figma, Granola, HighLevel, Intuit QuickBooks, Klaviyo, Lovable, Notion, Shopify, Slack, Stripe, Zoom, and Facebook and Instagram business accounts. Meta says "nothing publishes, sends, or spends without your approval." Partners can apply at muse.ai/platform.

Muse vs OpenClaw

Muse and OpenClaw aim at the same idea, an assistant that does real work, but they run in opposite ways. Muse is a free-to-start Meta service running in Meta's cloud. OpenClaw is free, open-source software you run on your own hardware, paying for your own AI model.

Nat Friedman, head of product at Meta Superintelligence Labs, responded in a post on X, reported by TechCrunch on September 22, 2026. He said Muse was "built from scratch" but "definitely heavily inspired as a product by OpenClaw." Users had found that Muse's workspace file names matched OpenClaw's, including a SOUL.md file that sets the agent's personality. On that point he said "we thought that Peter [Steinberger] got those things exactly right," as reported by TechCrunch. OpenClaw creator Peter Steinberger joined OpenAI in February 2026, according to The Next Web.

Meta Muse OpenClaw
Who makes it Meta OpenClaw Foundation (501(c)(3)), created by Peter Steinberger
Where it runs Meta's cloud (Muse Secure VM) Your own computer or server
Cost Free tier; paid plans reported at $20 and $100 a month Free (MIT license); you pay for the AI model you use
Add-ons Connectors built or approved by Meta, plus custom connectors Skills and plugins, shared through ClawHub
Messaging Muse app, web, WhatsApp WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, Discord, Signal, iMessage and more
Your data Held by Meta, with opt-outs Stays on your hardware by default
Setup effort Download an app Install and configure it yourself

Pick Muse if you want an agent that works out of the box. Pick OpenClaw if you want full control and are comfortable with setup. See What is OpenClaw?.

Limits and early problems

Muse grew fast but hit friction in its first weeks. It passed 500,000 users and 250,000 daily users in week one, per The Information via The Decoder, and reached No. 1 on the App Store. By September 30, Sensor Tower estimated 5 million downloads in 22 days, helped by heavy advertising on Meta's own apps, per 9to5Mac. These are third-party figures, not Meta's.

Some sites block it. GeekWire reports that Amazon blocked Muse around September 21, 2026, telling users "continued access by an unauthorized AI agent violates Amazon's Conditions of Use." Amazon said Muse did not identify itself while browsing. Agent shopping may not work on every store.

Safety tips

An agent that acts for you needs wide access, so treat each permission as a real decision. Muse can reach email, calendars and payments, and on a Mac it can operate apps. Two Mac issues surfaced in September 2026, so be extra careful there.

Related guides

These guides cover OpenClaw and how add-ons work in ChatGPT and Claude.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

Is Meta Muse free?

Mostly. Meta says Muse is free for most of what people need, with subscription plans for heavier use. TechCrunch and Axios report the paid plans cost $20 and $100 a month.

Where is Muse available?

Muse launched in the US on September 8, 2026, on iOS, Android, the web at muse.ai and inside WhatsApp. Meta's September 29 announcement says it is now available in the US and Canada. It is for people 18 and older.

Is Muse a copy of OpenClaw?

Meta says no, but admits the influence. Nat Friedman, head of product at Meta Superintelligence Labs, said Muse was built from scratch but is definitely heavily inspired as a product by OpenClaw, after users found near-identical workspace files such as SOUL.md.

Does Meta use my Muse chats for ads or training?

Meta says Muse conversations are not shared with its ad systems. Axios reports that by default Meta can use your queries to improve its models, but you can opt out in settings.

Is it safe to give Muse access to my Mac?

Be careful. A writer reported that Muse synced his Messages history after he declined access, which Meta disputes, and a researcher found a Mac flaw that Meta later hotfixed. Grant Mac permissions such as Full Disk Access only if you truly need them.