The newly launched consumer-grade AI proxy application has seen rapid growth recently and has surpassed ChatGPT on Apple's free app list in the US region. This product features a "task management" capability, allowing it to book travel arrangements, arrange restaurants, manage calendars, and complete some shopping tasks on behalf of users, which has also drawn significant attention for Meta in the consumer-grade AI proxy market.
Muse tops the free chart
Muse runs on the latest Muse Spark model based on Meta. After user authorization, the application can connect to multiple accounts and services on the phone, with AI acting as an agent to execute tasks on behalf of the user. For Meta, this is its first large-scale promotion of AI proxy products targeting ordinary consumers.
The core selling point of these products is to take the chat-based AI approach a step further to “direct task execution.” Users not only ask questions within the application but also entrust tasks such as booking tickets, ordering meals, and shopping to agents to complete on their behalf. It is for this reason that Muse has quickly become a focal point of discussion in the American tech community this week.
Amazon blocks access to its mall
However, the expansion of Muse quickly encountered resistance. Amazon has blocked the assistants of Meta from accessing its online store and stated that unauthorized AI proxies continuing to access its website violate the platform's terms of use. Amazon also claimed that Meta did not seek permission for this.
Meta has not yet made a public response to Amazon's statements. However, the company has announced that it will collaborate with Shopify to provide support for some shopping functions of Muse. This means that Meta may be able to advance its transaction capabilities through a partnership system first, rather than relying entirely on large platforms to open up access.
The dispute surrounding the use of AI to proxy access to e-commerce platforms focuses on who controls the user entry points and whether the platforms are willing to hand over the transaction process to external proxies. For Amazon, such tools could potentially bypass its existing website and App touchpoints, weakening the platform's control over traffic and the transaction interface.
Platform control rights and privacy attract attention
Amazon has also dealt with similar issues before. Last year, the company filed a lawsuit regarding the Comet AI tool related to Perplexity, with the same reason being related to the use of this tool to access Amazon accounts. Subsequently, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling unfavorable to Amazon, stating that it was ultimately the users who chose to access Amazon through these robots. The related disputes have not yet been completely resolved.
It is worth noting that Amazon itself is also pushing forward with similar products. Its shopping agents “Buy for Me” have nearly the same proxy capabilities as “Muse”. Amazon previously stated that brands would be included in this feature by default, and if a brand wished to opt out, it would need to do so manually. The company's management has also mentioned that they are exploring cooperation with third-party companies to launch a “AI” shopping agent.
In addition to platform competition, privacy is another challenge that Muse faces. To enable agents to truly complete tasks on behalf of users, it is often necessary to access sensitive data such as login information, payment methods, and schedules. Meta states that user login credentials will not be exposed to outsiders, and one-time card numbers will be used for online payments to conceal the actual bank card information.
However, Meta has been involved in several privacy controversies in the past. The company is also recently facing multiple proposed class actions related to smart glasses. One of the allegations claims that some of the footage captured by these glasses was sent to third-party human reviewers for labeling and AI development. Meta denies these allegations.
The popularity of Muse also coincides with a sensitive time point. Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, is expected to announce updates to smart glasses at this week's Connect conference. The integration of AI agents with wearable devices may become a focus of their next phase of product development.
