Apple Faces a New Threat From Meta's Muse -- Barrons.com

By Angela Palumbo

Meta's Muse shows how agentic artificial intelligence could pose a risk for Apple as people shift how they use the internet, says one BofA Securities analyst.

Meta's Muse has already gained a lot of traction since launching earlier this month. According to BofA analyst Wamsi Mohan, the Muse app hit 2.5 million downloads in its first two weeks.

Muse's capabilities are what make it so popular. The agent can complete a variety of tasks for a user based on a simple prompt, including booking travel or making online purchases. The user never has to leave the chatbot to get those tasks done.

This-and the expected launch of future agents like it-could be a near-term problem for Apple, says Mohan.

"Whomever the agent chooses becomes the merchant, and whoever owns the agent collects the routing economics that previously accrued to operating systems, search, and app stores," Mohan wrote.

For Apple, that means potentially less revenue for its services segment as people stick to the chatbot to start and end transactions, online searches, and other activities.

Apple has been working on its own AI updates, including updates to Siri, to keep users engaged. Siri could eventually mirror the capabilities of an agent like Muse. Apple faces some competitive risks until that's the case, though.

"Agents are accelerating innovation cycles, and Apple needs to ensure that its teams around services, silicon, payments, privacy etc. are integrating with Siri AI and moving at a pace to match innovation at competitors in the race to capture the economics of user intent," Mohan wrote.

He rates Apple Buy with a $370 price target. Apple stock was down 1.8% to $332.22 on Tuesday. Shares have gained 22% this year.

Write to Angela Palumbo at angela.palumbo@dowjones.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

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September 29, 2026 11:22 ET (15:22 GMT)