Meta used its annual Connect event to push its new consumer AI agent, Muse, a move that stood out during a week when OpenAI and Anthropic focused on coding and enterprise tools. On TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Kirsten Korosec, Sean O’Kane, and Anthony Ha discussed whether Meta‘s consumer bet makes sense given its history of embedding itself in everyday life through Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Korosec argued this plays to Meta‘s strengths, while Ha noted that OpenAI and Anthropic’s enterprise focus is partly driven by pressure to generate revenue at unprecedented scale before going public, leaving room for Meta to own the consumer side.

O’Kane, who tested Muse before the episode, described it as Meta‘s ground-up version of OpenClaw, an open-source agent that can control a phone and perform tasks via text. He found it genuinely useful in one specific case: the agent suggested scanning for unclaimed property funds, and it located some money owed to him, resulting in a check in the mail. But he called that a one-time party trick rather than a repeatable, habit-forming feature. The more sustainable version Meta is pitching, such as connecting credit cards and Gmail to cancel subscriptions or find double charges, runs straight into a trust wall.

O’Kane said he was initially surprised that Muse did not immediately pull in his Threads, Instagram, or Facebook data, which made him more willing to experiment. But as he used it, he saw it actively trying to integrate those accounts and learn more about him. His core concern is Meta‘s business model: Meta sells ads, and the argument that more personal data leads to better ads does not convince him. He contrasted this with Apple’s new Siri on iOS, which he said works surprisingly well for phone controls, and he would be far more willing to hand sensitive data to Apple because Apple’s business is not selling ads. He doubts he will ever trust Meta the same way, and aside from the unclaimed funds discovery, he has not found Muse consistently useful, though its consumer-friendly interaction style is why it is getting attention.