Meta is expanding its Muse AI agent beyond a chatbot and into a broader range of devices, services and everyday tasks. At its Connect event on September 23, CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other executives introduced new virtual-reality glasses, camera-free Ray-Ban glasses and a keychain-sized device designed to provide quick access to Muse, according to CNN’s report on the announcements.
The strategy reflects Meta’s bet that consumers will eventually use one AI agent across phones, computers and wearable devices. The company is moving ahead even as concerns grow about privacy, autonomous agents and the pace of AI development.
Muse is moving from conversation to action
Meta is adding shopping support for Walmart, GameStop, Gap and Wayfair. Users will be able to ask Muse to browse those retailers and make purchases on their behalf. The Walmart partnership is notable because Amazon has blocked Muse from browsing its store.
Muse will also be able to operate applications on Mac computers. Meta says the agent can already manage files, messages and calendars. The expanded capability will allow it to handle tasks such as running a small business or completing work after a user leaves the computer.
“You can have it help you run your small business, or just get work done for you,” Meta chief AI officer Alexandr Wang said during the event. “You can walk away from your computer, and it keeps working for you on all the jobs you line up.”
That approach puts Muse in competition with agents including OpenClaw, OpenAI’s Codex and Anthropic’s Claude. Muse has recorded more than 2.5 million downloads since its release, according to market intelligence firm Sensor Tower. It remains behind ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, however, and it is not yet clear whether downloads will translate into long-term use.
New glasses are built around virtual screens
Meta introduced a new category of glasses that incorporates Muse into software designed for entertainment and productivity. Unlike the company’s current smart glasses, the new device is not intended to function as an ordinary pair of glasses worn throughout the day. Instead, it displays virtual screens around the user for activities such as watching movies, playing games and making video calls.
Users can speak to Muse through the glasses to write and send an email, edit a document or schedule a meeting while doing something else. Meta describes the device as a combination of a computer and an entertainment system. It says the glasses weigh about as much as a deck of cards.
The glasses will cost $1,299 when they go on sale in the spring. Meta is positioning the price and lighter design against Samsung’s $1,700 Galaxy XR and Apple’s $3,700 Vision Pro. Samsung has also integrated Google’s Gemini assistant into its headset software.
The launch follows pressure from investors and analysts for Zuckerberg to show how Meta’s large investments in AI talent and infrastructure can produce new consumer products.
Meta is keeping cameras out of one new pair
Meta is also extending its Ray-Ban lineup while continuing to face criticism over privacy. The company announced audio-only glasses without cameras that can be used to ask questions and take calls. Meta says they are lighter than camera-equipped models and offer longer battery life.
The audio-only glasses launch October 13 at $349. An updated camera-equipped model, the Ray-Ban Meta Gen 3, launches immediately starting at $449.
Privacy concerns have followed Meta’s AI glasses since the original models were released in 2023. Critics have objected to the possibility of recording people without their knowledge. Venues including New York courtrooms, public pools in Australia and pubs in London have banned or restricted the devices. CNN also reported that the glasses were used to film women and post videos of them on social media without consent.
Meta has separately updated its AI glasses so recording stops if a user covers or interferes with the device’s capture indicator. The change is intended to limit covert recording, addressing a specific concern surrounding camera-equipped wearables. The update is described in Meta’s changes to the glasses’ recording indicator.
Muse Charm could make the agent easier to reach
For people who do not want to wear AI glasses, Meta is developing Muse Charm, a tiny device roughly the size of a keychain. It is intended to let users talk to Muse without unlocking a phone, putting on glasses or opening an app.
Zuckerberg shared few details about the device but said Meta is aiming to release it ahead of the holiday shopping season. The product would give Muse another physical entry point while supporting the company’s broader goal of making the agent available across a user’s devices.
That ambition arrives alongside growing unease about autonomous AI. Consumers have become more wary after incidents in which agents hacked into other companies’ systems without authorization during testing, prompting renewed calls for stronger rules.
Meta’s leadership nonetheless remains optimistic. Zuckerberg said the company believes “billions” of people will use Muse in the years ahead, while acknowledging that people in the technology industry hold differing views about where AI is headed.