Meta's Muse shopping agent drives little business so far, firms say

WIRED reports that Muse, Meta's agentic AI tool for automating online tasks, was one of the hottest topics on corporate earnings calls in recent weeks. Meta has claimed Muse is becoming a major force in shopping, with millions of people using it to make purchases of more than $200 on average. Wall Street fears that proactive shopping assistants like Muse will erode brand loyalty, ignite price wars and squeeze corporate profits.

Yet executives at roughly 50 companies, spanning travel, internet providers, food and self-storage, shrugged off immediate disruption on earnings calls and in conversations with WIRED. Many insisted they would mostly benefit from any real widespread adoption of agents. DoorDash described the number of orders from Muse and other agents as in the "hundreds." T-Mobile said, "We haven’t seen anything of significance." Hilton called agent bookings "insignificant." Ally Financial called activity "quite low," and eBay called it "very, very small." Financial experts have suspected users may ask Muse to dump unused subscriptions and memberships, but fitness chain Life Time Group said it has "seen zero" cancellations from agents, and Public Storage and Hartford Insurance Group offered similar data. In India, delivery app Eternal estimated agentic commerce as "close to zero."

The comments leave open where users of Muse, Instinct and other popular AI agents are spending their money. On Meta's earnings call this month, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said more than 10 million people in the US and Canada had activated Muse, and over 25 percent used it for shopping, more than any other task and above the company's expectations. Meta declined to comment beyond those remarks, but pointed to partnerships with 10 retailers including Walmart, Best Buy and Gap. Many of them last reported earnings before Muse launched and have not shared data about it yet.

Executives acknowledged agents are at an early stage, but some are already optimizing their websites. Chipotle chief digital officer Arlie Sisson told reporters this week that the chain found agents struggling to complete purchases because of hiccups applying loyalty discounts or ordering after-hours. Muse's debut increased agentic orders by a single-digit percentage, and Chipotle is now tidying up its website code to help agents. Similar discussions are underway at DoorDash, even though CEO and Meta board member Tony Xu said present hype about agents might be "delusional." Costco and Extra Space Storage said sales originating from AI chatbots such as Gemini and ChatGPT are surging as they optimize their online content, so they plan to do the same for AI agents.

Relying on agents could be costly. Zuckerberg said Meta plans to charge businesses a fee for transactions facilitated by Muse, and he predicted this revenue would eventually top Meta's advertising business. InterContinental Hotels CEO Elie Maalouf is cautious in ongoing talks with Meta: "We haven't come to any conclusions on what an eventual collaboration could look like, if any." Security and errant orders remain top of mind; this week Bank of America became the latest big bank to warn customers about giving login information to AI assistants, with chief client care officer Ashley Ross writing in an email that customers who share credentials are responsible for activity resulting from that access.

Executives at many companies also dismissed the idea that agents encourage profit-hurting comparison shopping, suggesting product quality, customer service and brand trust would still factor into purchase decisions. Stances are shifting fast. Amazon blocked Muse last month, contending users would prefer its own Alexa shopping agent, but this week acknowledged it anticipates working with outside agents. Insurance marketplace Insurify also blocked Muse but changed its mind this week after introducing technology to ensure agents could present accurate offers.

Key facts

Zuckerberg said on Meta's earnings call that more than 10 million people in the US and Canada had activated Muse and over 25 percent used it for shopping; Meta says purchases average more than $200.
Executives at roughly 50 companies told WIRED and investors that agent-driven activity is small: DoorDash said orders from Muse and other agents are in the 'hundreds', Hilton called bookings 'insignificant', Life Time Group has 'seen zero' cancellations.
Chipotle saw agentic orders rise by a single-digit percentage after Muse's debut and is cleaning up its website code after agents stumbled on loyalty discounts and after-hours orders.
Zuckerberg said Meta plans to charge businesses a fee on Muse transactions and predicted the revenue would eventually top Meta's advertising business.
Amazon and Insurify, which both blocked Muse, have softened their stances this week; Bank of America warned customers about sharing logins with AI assistants.

Why it matters

Wall Street worries that shopping agents like Muse could weaken brand loyalty, spark price wars and squeeze profits. The early evidence from about 50 companies is that nothing of the sort has shown up yet. Meanwhile Meta's CEO is pitching Muse as a future revenue stream: a fee on transactions that he predicted would eventually top the advertising business. The gap between his numbers and the companies' numbers is the story.

Who it affects

Retailers, restaurants, hotels, delivery apps, telecoms, banks and self-storage firms, all of which discussed agents on earnings calls. Meta's 10 retail partners, including Walmart, Best Buy and Gap, are directly involved. Consumers using agents are affected too, since they may be responsible for activity that follows from sharing credentials, as Bank of America put it.

How to use it

For businesses, the practical lesson from Chipotle is to test how agents handle your site. It found they struggled with loyalty discounts and after-hours ordering and is now tidying its website code. Costco and Extra Space Storage plan to extend the optimization they did for AI chatbots to agents. Consumers should note Bank of America's warning before handing login details to an AI assistant.

How solid is it

The adoption figures (10 million activations, over 25 percent shopping use, $200 average purchase) come from Zuckerberg and Meta, and the source does not say whether they have been independently verified. The counterweight is company statements, not hard data: terms like 'hundreds', 'insignificant' and 'close to zero' are descriptions, not order counts. Many of Meta's retail partners last reported earnings before Muse launched and have not shared data. Executives themselves said agents are at an early stage.

Risks and caveats

Security and errant orders remain top of mind for companies and banks. Reliance on agents could become costly if Meta charges a per-transaction fee; the source gives no size for that fee. Comparison shopping that hurts profits is a possibility, though executives at many companies dismissed it. Stances change quickly: Amazon and Insurify blocked Muse and have since shifted, and InterContinental Hotels says it has reached no conclusions on any collaboration.

“We haven’t seen anything of significance”

— T-Mobile, on agent activity, as reported by WIRED