Meta's New AI App Is Beating ChatGPT's First Weeks

Meta has a new AI app called Muse, and early numbers suggest it is off to a faster start than ChatGPT was. According to estimates from the market research firm Apptopia, Muse was downloaded more times in its first 12 days than ChatGPT was in its first 12 days on phones. That's a big deal because ChatGPT is the best-known AI chatbot in the world, and a new challenger catching it out of the gate is rare.

The fairest comparison: both apps launched differently. ChatGPT started on iPhone only, worldwide. Muse is on both iPhone and Android, but only in the U.S. and Canada. So Apptopia compared just iPhone users in the U.S. and Canada for each app's first 12 days. Muse still won, with 1.8 million downloads to ChatGPT's 1.3 million. Muse is also keeping people coming back. Its U.S. daily users hit about 642,000, compared with 231,000 for ChatGPT at the same stage. Even counting iPhone users alone, Muse is ahead.

Why is Muse growing so fast? Meta owns the megaphone. When Meta launched Threads, it promoted the app inside Instagram and Facebook and quickly reached over 500 million users. Muse can get the same treatment, and it even works inside WhatsApp. Apptopia notes that over 95% of Muse users also use Facebook and 63% use Instagram — so Meta can nudge them with a single button. For you, that means AI help may soon appear in the places you chat with friends and family, not in a separate app you have to remember to open.

The catch: these are third-party estimates. Apptopia can't see Meta's private numbers, so treat the figures as directionally right, not exact. Meta hasn't published any Muse numbers at all. Also, fast downloads don't always mean long-term loyalty — plenty of apps spike and fade. Still, if you use Facebook, Instagram, or WhatsApp, expect to see Muse offered to you sooner rather than later.