Meta’s new AI app, Muse, is showing remarkable early success, outpacing ChatGPT’s initial mobile launch in the U.S. and Canada, according to recent data from Apptopia. Within its first 12 days, Muse achieved 1.8 million iOS downloads compared to ChatGPT’s 1.3 million during the same timeframe. Muse also boasts a higher daily active user count, with 642,000 in the U.S. alone versus ChatGPT’s 231,000 at that stage. Muse’s launch strategy focused on North America and spanned both iOS and Android, whereas ChatGPT launched globally but only on iOS initially.

Muse’s growth momentum has propelled it to the top spot on the U.S. App Store and Google Play within weeks of its September 8 release. Its success is partly attributed to strong organic interest and Meta’s adept cross-promotion across its flagship platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Data shows that the vast majority of Muse users are active Facebook users, with a significant overlap on Instagram, enabling Meta to leverage its existing user base effectively. This integrated promotion model builds on Meta’s previous success with Instagram’s Threads app, which quickly amassed over 500 million users.

Recent market intelligence from Sensor Tower highlights Muse’s rapid download growth, averaging a 55% day-over-day increase in its first two weeks, surpassing ChatGPT’s 24% during the equivalent launch period. The surge was amplified by Meta’s announcements at the annual Meta Connect conference, where new features including video chat capabilities, Mac support, email integration, and future smart glasses compatibility were unveiled. This event prompted a 27% jump in daily active user numbers, underscoring growing engagement with the app.

While Meta is putting significant promotional effort behind Muse, including house ads on its platforms and advertisement campaigns on social networks like TikTok and Reddit, only a small portion of Muse’s impressions come from paid ads, indicating strong organic traction as well. Muse’s polished AI model and seamless integration within Meta’s ecosystem position it as a promising contender in the personal AI assistant space, signaling Meta’s reinvigorated push into AI-driven consumer apps amid rising competition.