Key points
- Muse passes 5 million downloads across the U.S. and Canada
- Its projected U.S. milestone beats ChatGPT's launch pace
- Meta is backing the launch with heavy advertising
Meta Platforms' (META) Muse AI app has passed 5 million downloads about three weeks after its launch, according to estimates from market intelligence firm Sensor Tower. The firm projects that Muse will cross 5 million downloads in the U.S. alone today, Sept. 30, a mark that took ChatGPT 56 days to reach.
Muse launched on Sept. 8 and is available only in the U.S. and Canada. Sensor Tower shared the estimates with AIStockWire in a Sept. 30 report by Kara Lee, a senior insights analyst at the firm. The firm says the estimates are based on its own panel and data models and "should be used for directional trend analysis."
Estimates vary by provider. In figures published by TechCrunch on Sept. 25, Apptopia put Muse's total downloads at 4.3 million, Appfigures at about 2.3 million, and Sensor Tower at more than 3.4 million. Apptopia's and Appfigures' counts include both iOS and Android.
How does Muse compare with ChatGPT, Grok and Claude?
Sensor Tower projects that Muse will reach 5 million U.S. downloads faster than ChatGPT, Grok, or Claude did.
| App | Days to 5 million U.S. downloads |
|---|---|
| Meta Muse | About 22 (projected) |
| ChatGPT | 56 |
| Grok | 103 |
| Claude | 492 |
Grok and Claude were available only on iOS for their first five days, the report noted. Meta's AI chief said earlier this month that Muse was outpacing ChatGPT's early launch.
Before Muse, only 23 apps had reached 5 million U.S. downloads within 22 days of launch, by the report's count, and about 85% of them are mobile games such as Fortnite, Pokemon GO, and Candy Crush. The three that aren't games are Disney+, HBO Max, and Meta's own Threads, which drew about 20 million, 18 million, and 14 million downloads in that window.
Muse is still the top app overall on both Apple's U.S. App Store and Google Play in the U.S., and it has held the No. 1 spot on Apple's U.S. store for 12 straight days. It's also the No. 1 app in Canada, where it has led Apple's App Store for 11 consecutive days.
How hard is Meta pushing Muse?
Meta began ramping up advertising for Muse on Sept. 16, and downloads jumped 73% from the day before, the report says. In the week of Sept. 21 to Sept. 27, Muse ranked among the top 15 brands in the U.S. by ad impressions, which the report said highlights "the aggressiveness of Meta's latest product launch."
Muse has also received the largest share of Meta's house ads, the ads a company runs to promote its own products. Over the two weeks from Sept. 14 to Sept. 27, Muse accounted for up to 50% of Meta's daily house ad impressions, while Facebook and WhatsApp gave up share. Meta has also advertised Muse on Reddit, TikTok, and YouTube, though TechCrunch described much of the app's early traction as organic.
What do analysts say?
JPMorgan analyst Doug Anmuth reiterated an overweight rating and an $820 price target on Meta after the launch. "While it is still early, we believe that Muse has the potential to become the most widely used consumer AI application since ChatGPT," he wrote in a note to clients.
Bank of America was more cautious about the money. Its analysts said revenue from ads, subscriptions, or commissions within Muse is unlikely to become material before 2028. Muse has a free tier and paid plans at $20 and $100 a month, and traders have already started betting on its effect on other stocks, such as Charles Schwab.
What is the stock doing?
Meta shares traded at $730.75 as of 11:16 a.m. ET on Wednesday, down 1.1% from Tuesday's close of $738.79.
