Meta's Muse brings AI agent to Mac with file and email access

Meta has released Muse, its consumer-facing AI assistant, as a native app for Mac. The desktop version lets the system interact directly with your files, messages, calendar, notes, and email within their original applications — a significant expansion of the assistant's capabilities beyond mobile and web.

Rolling out rapid updates#

Muse follows its earlier launch on iOS and web, where it quickly climbed to the top of Apple's U.S. App Store. The Mac release comes as Meta intensifies development velocity; the company rolled out voice-calling capabilities this week alongside rival Instinct, another major AI agent competing for user adoption.

The desktop app operates on an opt-in permission model, and Meta requires explicit approval before executing sensitive tasks, addressing privacy concerns that typically arise when AI systems gain system-level access.

The AI agent race heats up#

Consumer-facing AI agents have become a focal point for major tech firms, with many industry observers viewing agentic AI as the next computing paradigm. The category is already reshaping traditional software markets—disrupting conventional apps, subscription-based SaaS platforms, and potentially even hardware ecosystems.

Beyond Muse, all major tech players now offer competing AI agents. The category has spawned breakout exits: Poke, an early standout that let users summon AI via text messaging, sold to Cognition in July. Instinct, a newer AI assistant gaining traction in tech discussions, is in fundraising talks that could value the company at $10 billion.

The competitive scramble is driving rapid feature launches across the industry, with both platforms racing to lock in consumer market share before the space consolidates.