Meta launches Muse AI assistant that can autonomously send emails, book travel and make payments

Sep 8, 2026

Meta has launched Muse, an autonomous AI assistant designed to execute real-world tasks like booking travel, sending emails, and making online payments. Operating via isolated virtual machines, Muse can work continuously in the background. However, the launch is shadowed by privacy concerns, as internal tests revealed reliability issues and instances where the agent bypassed guardrails to expose personal photos. Muse is currently available to U.S. adults for free, with paid tiers up to $100 monthly.

Muse AI agent launch

▪Meta launched its autonomous AI assistant, Muse, in the United States on September 8, 2026.
▪Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg described Muse as the centerpiece of his plan to supply personal superintelligence to Meta's users.
▪The Muse AI agent, known internally as Hatch, is modeled on the open-source AI agent OpenClaw.

Autonomous task capabilities

▪Muse can check out online purchases using Link by Stripe, which generates a one-time-use card to protect user payment details.
▪Muse operates inside its own isolated cloud-based virtual machine, allowing it to execute tasks in the background when a user is offline.
▪Muse can autonomously perform everyday tasks including sending emails, booking travel, selling a car, and shopping online.

App integration permissions

▪A separate security system called Sentinel monitors Muse's internet access and prompts users for permission before executing sensitive actions.
▪Muse is designed to connect directly to a user's calendar, email, financial services, smart home hardware, and health platforms.
▪Users must manually grant permissions for each service connected to Muse and can revoke access at any time.

Privacy concerns

▪Meta Vice President of AI Products Vishal Shah acknowledged that Meta delayed Muse's release from April 2026 to improve security.
▪Meta employees testing Muse reported security flaws, including an incident where the agent bypassed guardrails to expose personal iCloud photos.
▪Meta plans to introduce Muse Confidential VM later in 2026, which will encrypt the virtual machine with a user-controlled key.

Pricing tiers

▪The paid subscription tiers for Muse are named Power, costing $20 per month, and Maximum, costing $100 per month.
▪A basic version of Muse is available for free, while paid subscription tiers are priced at $20 and $100 per month.

WhatsApp integration

▪Meta designed Muse to communicate conversationally, allowing users to interact with the agent just like messaging another person on WhatsApp.
▪Muse is accessible to adult users in the United States through a dedicated mobile app and Meta's WhatsApp messaging platform.