Meta's New AI Shops and Emails for You — If You Trust It
It cleared her inbox and bought her clothes — then listed her private hobbies.
Meta has launched Muse, its first real foray into AI-powered productivity tools — an assistant that carries out actions using a cloud-based virtual computer. A reporter tried it: Muse deleted thousands of promotional emails and updates from her Gmail, and on Amazon it successfully bought only the workout tank tops she asked for. Then things got weird. Muse rattled off her very specific interests — anime, CrossFit, Labrador retrievers, Florida wildlife, '90s/2000s nostalgia — based on the Instagram and Facebook accounts she signed up with, many of the same topics that pop up in her Instagram Reels feed. It also served up news from the state where she was visiting family, which Muse admitted it pulled from the shipping address on her Amazon order. Meta says it doesn't share your information with advertisers. She still felt uneasy.
- Muse is Meta's first AI 'agent' — software that can actually take actions like deleting emails or buying items, not just chat
- In testing, it deleted thousands of emails and bought the right clothes, but also recited the tester's private hobbies pulled from Instagram
- Using it means handing over access to your Gmail, Amazon, and social accounts, so convenience comes with a real privacy trade-off
Why It Matters
Helpful AI assistants only work if you hand over your email, shopping, and social data — a real privacy trade-off.