Meta’s Muse is outpacing ChatGPT’s early mobile launch

Market intelligence firm Apptopia estimates Meta’s Muse app outpaced ChatGPT’s early mobile launch on downloads and daily active users in the first 12 days, comparing U.S. and Canada iOS data for a fairer match. Muse also sits at No. 1 on the U.S. App Store overall after climbing from No. 2.

If the ballpark holds, Meta may have another cross-promoted consumer hit on its hands — with Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp as built-in distribution rails.

We’re not surprised Muse is ripping out of the gate. ChatGPT’s mobile debut was iOS-global and historically huge; Muse is U.S./Canada on iOS and Android with Meta’s entire social graph behind it. Apptopia’s matched slice still shows Muse ahead: about 1.8 million iOS downloads in U.S./Canada versus ChatGPT’s 1.3 million in the same window, and higher U.S. DAUs (642,000 overall mobile vs 231,000 then; 359,000 on iOS alone still above ChatGPT’s early mark).

Overall installs hit roughly 2.8 million in 12 days, per Apptopia. Appfigures had Muse crossing 1 million earlier in the run. These are third-party estimates — Apptopia doesn’t see Meta’s internals — but directionally they’re loud.

The strategic read is distribution. Over 95% of Muse users are also Facebook users and 63% are Instagram users, Apptopia notes. Threads already proved Meta can mint a massive app with heavy in-ecosystem push. Muse connecting to Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp is the same playbook with an agent twist.

Useful AI angle: faster consumer adoption of assistants that actually do tasks could be good — if trust holds. Pair this growth story with the same week’s Muse security zero-day reporting and Amazon’s shopping block, and the tension is obvious. Scaling a hyper-privileged agent before the security story is settled is how you get a top App Store slot and a trust crisis at the same time.

I’m watching whether Meta publishes first-party adoption numbers, whether growth continues past the launch spike, and whether retention looks like a habit or a novelty install wave.

TechCrunch’s Sarah Perez, Sep 21, 2026, citing Apptopia estimates and prior Business Insider / Appfigures coverage of Muse’s App Store climb. Meta had not shared public adoption figures at time of reporting.