Meta’s Muse Surges Past ChatGPT’s Early Mobile Launch, New Data Suggests

Meta’s new AI app, Muse, is off to a faster mobile start than ChatGPT’s early iPhone rollout, according to fresh third-party estimates from Appfigures. In its first 12 days, Muse has reportedly outpaced ChatGPT in downloads and daily active users in the U.S. and Canada, signaling that Meta may have another breakout consumer app on its hands.

The comparison is not perfectly apples-to-apples, but it is still notable: Meta’s app is already climbing app-store rankings, pulling in strong engagement, and benefiting from the company’s massive distribution network across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

What the early numbers say

Appfigures’ latest estimates suggest Muse has gained momentum quickly across both install volume and usage intensity. Looking at the first 12 days after launch, the firm says Muse has accumulated more downloads than ChatGPT did during the equivalent early period, at least in the U.S. and Canada.

Because the two products entered the market under different launch rules, Appfigures narrowed the comparison to a common baseline: iOS downloads and usage in the U.S. and Canada during each app’s first 12 days. On that basis, Muse is ahead.

The market-intelligence company estimates Muse recorded 1.8 million iOS downloads in the U.S. and Canada during that window, compared with 1.3 million for ChatGPT. When looking at all platforms and all regions combined, Appfigures puts Muse at 2.8 million installs globally over its first 12 days.

That kind of start matters because early consumer AI adoption often depends on momentum, social visibility and habit formation. If users open the app repeatedly, the product gains more chance to become a default AI companion rather than a one-time curiosity.

How does Muse compare with ChatGPT’s launch?

Muse appears to be benefiting from a broader mobile footprint and from Meta’s ability to promote the app inside services people already use every day. ChatGPT launched on iPhone first and was available globally at the time, while Muse is currently offered on both the App Store and Google Play but only in the U.S. and Canada.

To make the comparison fairer, Appfigures also examined iOS-only usage in the same two markets. Even there, Muse comes out ahead.

In U.S. daily active users, Muse is estimated at 642,000 compared with 231,000 for ChatGPT during the same early period. On iOS alone, Muse is estimated at 359,000 daily active users, still above ChatGPT’s early iPhone number.

Those figures are third-party estimates rather than Meta’s internal data, so they should be treated as directional rather than definitive. Still, they point to a clear early trend: Muse is not merely being downloaded, it is being used repeatedly at a scale that exceeds ChatGPT’s first mobile stretch.

Why Meta may have a distribution advantage

Meta is not entering the AI app race as a conventional startup trying to build awareness from scratch. It already controls some of the world’s most heavily used consumer platforms, and that matters.

The company has previously shown it can move users from one product into another through aggressive cross-promotion. Threads, Meta’s text-first social app, became a major success after launching with deep ties to Instagram and the broader Meta ecosystem. The app now has more than 500 million users, helped by internal promotion and frictionless onboarding.

Muse appears positioned to follow a similar path. It can connect with Facebook and Instagram, and it also works inside WhatsApp, giving Meta multiple surfaces where it can drive discovery and repeat use.

That kind of integration can be a powerful growth lever in consumer software. Instead of waiting for users to search for a new app, Meta can insert the product into places where attention already exists.

Appfigures’ data suggests that a large share of Muse’s early users are already inside Meta’s ecosystem, with more than 95% also using Facebook and 63% using Instagram.

That overlap does not prove Meta used direct promotion to fuel adoption, but it strongly implies the app is reaching people who are already familiar with the company’s other services. For a new AI product, familiarity can lower the barrier to trial and make return visits more likely.

What the app-store charts are telling us

Muse’s rise is visible beyond download totals. Shortly after launch, the app moved from No. 2 overall in the U.S. App Store to No. 1, according to reporting cited by Business Insider. That shift is important because chart placement often amplifies itself: higher rankings produce more visibility, which drives more downloads, which can push rankings even higher.

In practical terms, topping the App Store suggests Muse has broken through the initial novelty phase and is now reaching a broader mainstream audience. For Meta, that means the app is not only being tried by enthusiasts but is also competing for attention with established consumer hits.

Ranking success also matters for AI products because many users discover them passively. A strong chart position can turn a niche feature into a mass-market habit before competitors have time to respond.

Why daily active users matter more than installs

Daily active users are often a better indicator of product strength than simple install counts because they show whether people return after the first try. An app can generate a burst of curiosity and then fade quickly if the experience is weak.

By contrast, higher daily use suggests the product is becoming useful enough to re-open. In AI, that may reflect prompt quality, response speed, convenience or how naturally the app fits into users’ routines.

For Muse, the early engagement numbers hint that Meta may have built an app people are willing to revisit, not just sample.

How reliable are the comparisons?

The short answer is: useful, but limited. Appfigures does not have access to Meta’s internal analytics, so its numbers are modeled estimates based on available app-store and usage signals.

That means the figures should not be treated as audited company results. They are best understood as market intelligence that offers a high-confidence directional read on consumer interest.

There are also important product-launch differences that complicate direct comparisons. ChatGPT’s first mobile version was iOS-only and broadly available worldwide, while Muse launched on both iOS and Android but only in the U.S. and Canada. Appfigures attempted to normalize the data by comparing iOS activity in the same two countries, but even that does not fully erase the effect of marketing, timing or shifting consumer awareness of AI.

Still, even allowing for those caveats, Muse’s early performance looks strong by any standard. Beating ChatGPT’s initial iPhone numbers is not a trivial feat, particularly given how quickly ChatGPT became synonymous with consumer AI.

What Meta’s ecosystem could mean for Muse’s future

Meta has several structural advantages that most AI app makers do not. It can place Muse in front of billions of users across social, messaging and creator platforms. It can encourage trial through familiar login systems. It can also gather feedback and iterate quickly using its large consumer audience.

That does not guarantee success. A fast start can still stall if users do not find ongoing value. AI products also face growing scrutiny around privacy, quality, safety and whether they are meaningfully different from the many assistants now entering the market.

But early traction buys time. If Muse keeps growing, Meta could use it to strengthen its position in consumer AI without having to rely solely on its existing social apps as entry points.

There is also a strategic dimension. As more people turn to AI apps for search-like queries, writing help, brainstorming and everyday assistance, whoever controls the strongest consumer interface may gain a valuable new layer of engagement. Meta clearly wants to be part of that contest.

What this means for the AI app race

Muse’s launch matters because it shows that the AI app market is no longer defined only by the first-mover advantage that OpenAI enjoyed with ChatGPT. Distribution, branding and ecosystem reach now play a major role in whether a consumer AI product can break out.

Meta’s advantage is not just technical. It is organizational and behavioral: the company already knows how to drive attention, create viral loops and keep people inside its ecosystem. If Muse becomes another Threads-like success, Meta will have proven that it can translate social-platform power into AI app dominance.

That would put more pressure on rivals to think beyond model quality alone. In consumer AI, the winner may increasingly be the company that combines strong technology with the best route to users’ phones.

Timeline: Muse’s early launch window

The app’s first days have been marked by rapid movement in both adoption and visibility. Here is the early sequence as reflected in the reporting and data available so far.

What comes next for Muse?

The next test is whether Muse can hold attention once the novelty of a new Meta AI app fades. Launch spikes are common. Sustained engagement is harder.

If Meta continues pushing the app through Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, Muse could remain visible longer than a standalone AI app would. That exposure could help it convert casual users into regular users, especially if the product becomes genuinely useful for everyday tasks.

Meta has not yet publicly released its own adoption figures for Muse, and the company did not immediately provide comment on the latest estimates. For now, the market is left to infer momentum from app-store data and third-party analytics.

Even so, the early picture is clear enough: Muse has entered the AI mobile market with more force than many expected. Whether it becomes Meta’s next major consumer hit will depend on how well it turns initial curiosity into lasting habit.

For now, it has already done something notable. It has made a direct, data-backed challenge to one of the most recognizable launch comparisons in consumer AI: ChatGPT’s first mobile days.

Key facts at a glance

• Muse is Meta’s new AI app available in the U.S. and Canada on iOS and Android.
• Appfigures estimates Muse had 1.8 million iOS downloads in the U.S. and Canada during its first 12 days.
• The same comparison period put ChatGPT at 1.3 million iOS downloads in those markets.
• Muse’s estimated U.S. daily active users reached 642,000, above ChatGPT’s 231,000 at the same early stage.
• Meta’s ecosystem, including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, could significantly accelerate Muse’s growth.