Meta is launching the monetization of its new artificial intelligence agent, Muse, which attracted over 10 million users within a few weeks of its September release. Company CEO Mark Zuckerberg expects the service to eventually generate more revenue per user than traditional social networks Facebook and Instagram. Currently, the service is limited to residents of the United States and Canada, but the tech giant is already moving into the operational phase of scaling its infrastructure to reach a multi-billion audience.
Ambitious Financial Goals and Muse Monetization Features
During the third-quarter earnings report, Meta management shared optimistic forecasts regarding the profitability of the new AI assistant. According to Mark Zuckerberg, the average profit from a single American Muse user could exceed social media metrics, where annual revenue runs into the hundreds of dollars. This financial optimism is driven by the high volume of commercial transactions people conduct through the personal assistant. Since maintaining and operating the intelligent system requires significantly higher computing expenses compared to other Meta services, the introduction of paid features has become a top priority for the tech giant.
Smart Glasses Integration and Ecosystem Expansion
A crucial milestone in commercializing the project will be integrating the AI agent with Meta smart glasses this November. Since hardware sales alone do not yield high profits, incorporating the assistant will help drive users toward paid AI subscriptions. The integration will allow users to interact with the assistant via voice commands through the glasses, manage to-do lists, and track daily tasks. Certain advanced functions will be available exclusively on a subscription basis.
Context of Seeking New Business Models for the Tech Giant
Meta's drive to diversify its revenue sources comes against the backdrop of the company's historical reliance on advertising revenue, which in previous years accounted for the vast majority of income. Past attempts to build new revenue streams, including the metaverse and virtual reality devices, failed to become major revenue drivers. Amid surging capital expenditures for artificial intelligence infrastructure, the successful monetization of Muse must prove the viability of the corporation's new business model.
