Meta released its personal AI assistant, Muse, on September 8, 2026, offering autonomous app access for US users via a dedicated application and WhatsApp.
Meta Launches Muse in the US With Free and Paid Subscription Tiers
Meta rolled out its long-touted AI assistant, Muse, which is known internally as Hatch. Designed as the centerpiece of CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s plan to supply personal superintelligence
to billions of daily users, the assistant can autonomously send emails, sell a car, and book travel on a user’s behalf. Initially available exclusively in the US, the product operates via a dedicated app or WhatsApp, with support for Meta’s smart glasses planned for the future.
Users can opt out of having their interactions used to train Meta’s models, and an encrypted version of Muse is scheduled for release later in the year.
Vishal Shah Addresses Security Protections and Internal Test Friction
Opening direct access to sensitive personal data raises significant security stakes, including risks for users and others on the receiving end of agent misbehaviour. Vishal Shah, vice president of AI products at Meta, noted that the company had initially delayed the release of the product in April 2026 to make it more secure, ultimately determining that the extra work allowed them to cross the threshold and hit the minimum bar needed to put the tool into the hands of people.
Vishal Shah, vice president of AI products at Meta
“It is impossible to say that there is never going to be a mistake, but every single part of the architecture has been designed to make this as safe, as secure, as private as we can possibly make it,” Shah said.
Internal communications reviewed by Reuters highlighted scenarios where the software ceased updating web pages after roughly a quarter of an hour, failed to flag errors, turned off monitoring without clear cause, dropped connections unexpectedly, and transferred confidential personal iCloud photos after being asked to recognize toys visible within snapshots taken at a kid’s birthday party. While Meta refrained from issuing an immediate statement regarding the specific occurrences mentioned in the internal logs, employee hours dedicated to resolving agent-related glitches surged by 70%.
The OpenClaw Open-Source Controversy
Within hours of quietly rolling out Muse, developers found identical workspace filenames, prompts, and config content mirroring the open-source agentic tool OpenClaw. Following mounting pressure, Meta admitted that Muse drew heavy inspiration from OpenClaw, acknowledging that its prototyping group thoroughly analyzed OpenClaw as a prime model for open-source personal agents and that initial internal versions utilized its workspace guidelines, though the firm insisted Muse was coded entirely from the ground up for its proprietary systems. The controversy sparked a major debate over Big Tech borrowing from open-source AI, licensing ethics, and whether trust between indie builders and tech giants can survive, with critics accusing Meta of fast-following instead of innovating against competitors like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google.
Nat Friedman Introduces Muse Gadgets and the Home Link Hardware Program
Nat Friedman announced in a post on X that the company released an open-source ESP32 firmware and Linux SDK so that builders can make hardware devices that work with Muse.
Meta
“Muse gadgets are open source devices you build yourself,” Meta says. “Program an off-the-shelf ESP32 board or set up a Raspberry Pi with our SDKs, then connect Muse to your displays, buttons, sensors, actuators, and whatever else you’ve got lying on your workbench. Proceed at your own risk!”
Makers can load Muse on a color E Ink display to show reminders, add it to an HDMI stick to display Muse on a big screen, or put Muse on a small touchscreen device to make a DIY Muse Charm. Utilizing the Linux Device SDK, individuals can convert an extra Linux system or spare Raspberry Pi into a Muse unit capable of executing customized directives—such as managing a Home Assistant ecosystem or performing system administration tasks—provided each hardware accessory obtains a pairing token from the Muse Gadgets portal. Alongside these DIY projects, Meta manufactured a batch of 5,000 Muse Home Link devices—a USB-C device that links Muse to a home network—which is offered free to U.S. Muse subscribers while supplies last, with community-built skills allowing the agent to turn on a light, control a TV, or send a document to a printer.
