Meta's Muse Hits 10.9M Downloads in First 40 Days, Topping ChatGPT's Early U.S. Pace

Meta's AI companion Muse surpassed 10 million U.S. downloads within 40 days of its September launch, reaching 10.9 million total installs, 10.2 million of them domestic, according to Sensor Tower. Only 11 other apps have hit that post-launch milestone, the most recent being Meta's Threads in July 2023. Meta has leaned on cross-promotion across its family of apps and heavy advertising to drive adoption. The company allocated 39% of its total ad spend to market Muse in October, up from 23% the prior month, lifting the app to the 21st-largest U.S. brand by ad impressions from 73rd in September. Muse is retaining users better than rivals, posting a 30% seven-day and 23% 14-day retention rate in the U.S., versus an average of 19% and 16% for ChatGPT, Claude and Grok. Daily active users hit 2.5 million on October 16, up 15% week over week. For comparison, ChatGPT drew 3.7 million U.S. downloads in its first 40 days.