Meta's Muse Hype Meets Reality: Companies Report Minimal Actual Impact

Meta's Muse—an AI assistant that automates online tasks—has dominated recent corporate earnings conversations, prompting Wall Street to worry about eroded brand loyalty and compressed profit margins. Yet the reality on the ground tells a starkly different story: businesses across travel, telecoms, food, and finance report virtually no meaningful disruption from the technology yet.

The Gap Between Hype and Adoption#

Meta claims millions now use Muse for shopping, spending an average of over $200 per transaction. The company's CEO Mark Zuckerberg reported that more than 10 million people in North America have activated the tool, with shopping emerging as its most popular use case—surpassing even the company's own expectations.

When pressed by analysts, however, major players downplayed the actual numbers. Food delivery platform DoorDash characterized Muse-driven orders as mere "hundreds." Hotel operator Hilton dismissed bookings from agents as "insignificant," while telecom company T-Mobile stated flatly: "We haven't seen anything of significance." Financial services firm Ally Financial and the auction site eBay both described volumes as minimal, and in India, delivery giant Eternal pegged agentic commerce activity as "close to zero."

One anticipated pain point—subscription and membership cancellations—has also failed to materialize. Fitness chain Life Time Group reported it had "seen zero" cancellations triggered by agents, findings echoed by insurance and storage companies.

Companies Preparing Anyway#

Despite sluggish current adoption, numerous executives are already optimizing their digital infrastructure for agent compatibility. Chipotle's chief digital officer disclosed that the restaurant discovered agents stumbling through checkout due to issues with loyalty discounts and after-hours ordering restrictions. The chain is now cleaning up its website code to improve agent navigation.

DoorDash and Costco are pursuing similar technical upgrades, drawing lessons from rising sales volumes funneled through AI chatbots powered by tools like Google's Gemini and OpenAI's ChatGPT. Extra Space Storage signaled the same preparedness mindset, betting that systematic optimization for agentic systems could eventually pay off.

The Revenue Equation and Security Concerns#

Zuckerberg has indicated Meta intends to charge merchants transaction fees when Muse facilitates purchases—a revenue stream he believes will eventually dwarf the company's advertising business. InterContinental Hotels is proceeding cautiously in negotiations, with its CEO noting the company hasn't "come to any conclusions on what an eventual collaboration could look like."