Meta’s new AI assistant app Muse has rapidly surged past a major milestone, hitting over 10 million downloads in the United States in just 40 days since its launch. That places it among only 12 apps to reach this threshold within that time frame, according to data from Sensor Tower, which has tracked apps since October 2015. Muse’s user retention also leads its AI competitors, despite recent privacy concerns.
Swift growth amid growing visibility
Earlier reports showed Muse clearing 5 million US downloads, boosted by a strong advertising campaign and topping the US App Store charts for 12 straight days. While Muse has since dropped to second place, it’s joined an elite group of apps to breach 10 million downloads in a 40-day stretch. Among its peers in this category, nine are mobile games. Meta’s Threads achieved this feat back in July 2023.
To give context for Muse’s pace: during their first 40 days, ChatGPT reached about 3.7 million US downloads, while Grok and Claude trailed with roughly 500,000 and 200,000 respectively. Global uptake helped ChatGPT’s total downloads reach 15 million during its 40-day post-launch period, fuelled by strong numbers from countries including Japan, Brazil, and Germany.
Retention and privacy: striking balances
Muse not only gained downloads quickly but is retaining users better than rivals. Its seven-day retention rate in the US is about 30%, and the 14-day rate holds at 23%. In comparison, apps like ChatGPT, Claude, and Grok see roughly 19% and 16% retention at those same intervals. Clearly, users are coming back more often to Muse than to other emerging AI assistants.
Still, the app hasn’t escaped scrutiny. Researchers recently revealed that Muse’s shared conversation feature could potentially expose sensitive personal or business information. In response, Meta temporarily disabled that feature while it investigates further.
On the promotional front, Muse’s rise is tightly linked to Meta’s marketing push. Muse alone has accounted for 39% of Meta’s US advertising budget this month, up significantly from 23% in September. In advertising impressions among US brands, Muse’s rank shot up from 73rd to 21st in short order, underscoring Meta’s full throttle behind the app’s launch.
It’s worth noting that hitting 10 million downloads in 40 days isn’t just about momentum—it points to what can happen when major tech firms flex both AI and marketing muscle together. Meta is playing that dual hand, and Muse is reaping the rewards.
What this means: Muse’s strong start suggests it may stick around. But the privacy issue looms—if Meta fails to update and secure features now under question, user trust could snap back quickly. Keep an eye on how retention evolves past 30 days, how Meta addresses privacy, and whether Muse can sustain its growth without constant ad spending.
