Meta Launches AI Agent 'Muse' in Japan in First Expansion Outside North America After Surpassing 10,000,000 Setups in North America

On October 23, Meta began offering its personal AI agent, Muse, in Japan.¹ The Japanese market became the first region outside the North American continent where Muse has been officially introduced.¹ Prior to this, the service had initially launched in North America in September.¹ Regarding the scale of adoption in the initial region, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated that more than 10,000,000 people had completed the initial setup of Muse in the United States and Canada.¹ According to a report by Impress Watch, more than 10,000,000 downloads were recorded in just 1 month after the launch in North America.²

Users in Japan can operate the agent through dedicated apps for iOS and Android devices, as well as the website 'muse.ai.'¹ News outlet Impress Watch also reported the domestic launch date as October 23, citing the Android and iOS apps alongside muse.ai as access points.² Multiple tiers of use have been established for using the service.¹ Most basic features are designed to be available free of charge without any monetary payment.¹ Alongside the free tier, a paid subscription plan involving ongoing payments is also offered.¹

“Control always remains with users themselves”Meta, Impress Watch

In addition to conversational capabilities answering general questions, Muse acts on behalf of users to execute tasks such as sending emails and booking travel.¹ When users convey what they want to accomplish, the agent formulates the necessary steps to achieve it on its own.¹ It then opens a browser and directly carries out actions such as filling in information on input forms on target web pages.¹ Through this autonomous series of actions, practical tasks such as sending messages and making travel arrangements proceed.¹

Even for complex requests that take a long time to complete, the task is not interrupted when the user closes the app screen.¹ Processes continue to run in the cloud even after the user leaves.¹ If any changes occur during progress or if a stage requiring the user's own approval is reached, a notification is delivered to the device.¹ Furthermore, Muse possesses the ability to store and remember the contents of past conversations.¹ Using past conversation history as clues, it derives suggestions tailored to each individual's interests and objectives.¹

To exchange information with external digital platforms, Muse is equipped with dedicated connector features.¹ This mechanism enables integration with various external services such as Instagram, Gmail, and Google Calendar.¹ The scope of connectivity also extends to international commercial and tourism-related platforms.¹ Specifically, functional integrations have been established with Stripe and Shopify, as well as Trip.com, Agoda, and Klook.¹ These partnerships broadly support daily shopping, itinerary planning for travel, and various purchase and booking procedures.¹

With its entry into the Japanese market, Meta is advancing collaborations with various services widely used in Japan.¹ At this stage, integration work is underway with flea market app Mercari, household budgeting service Money Forward ME, and ticket sales platform Ticket Pia.¹ Meta has indicated a stance of further expanding its integration network with services provided by domestic businesses in Japan in the future.¹ However, the full scope of features that will become available through these integrations has not been disclosed at this time.¹ At the same time, the specific rollout timeline for when domestic integration features will be introduced has not been disclosed.¹

To ensure operational safety, Muse requests user consent immediately before critical actions, such as sending emails or ordering goods.¹ To prevent orders or communications that go against the user's intentions, critical operations are not executed without confirmation.¹ In addition, as a security safeguard, Muse is structured so that it cannot directly view user passwords or payment method details.¹ Users can check records of actions processed by the agent in the past and tasks scheduled to be carried out in the future at any time.¹ Impress Watch also noted the feature allowing users to track past history and future schedules, with Meta explaining that control always remains with users themselves.²

As an operational foundation for the system, Muse runs inside 'Muse Secure VM,' a cloud environment isolated individually for each user.¹ Data acquired from external services and various authentication credentials are also stored inside this dedicated virtual environment.¹ Independent protective controls are also applied to communications with external web environments.² According to Impress Watch, a Sentinel agent separate from Muse itself is responsible for managing internet access.² Users can choose for themselves which external apps to link and how much permission to grant.¹ Users are also permitted to modify granted access permissions or revoke connections entirely as needed.¹

Regarding the handling of personal data, boundaries have been established to protect privacy.¹ Users can select an opt-out setting to prevent conversations between themselves and Muse from being used in machine learning for AI models conducted by Meta.¹ Restrictions are also placed on commercial data utilization.¹ Meta has stated that it does not share interaction history with users with its advertising delivery infrastructure.¹ Similarly, it states that various data accumulated inside the isolated, dedicated VM will not be handed over to ad systems.¹

At its annual developer event 'Meta Connect' held in September, Meta made several announcements regarding future features of Muse.¹ The announced details included a high-precision voice dialogue mode, 'Muse Realtime Avatar,' and the provision of dedicated email addresses for the agent.¹ When the latest features showcased at the event will become available in the Japanese market remains undecided at this time.¹ Meta stated that it will make a separate announcement regarding the release schedule of these additional features in Japan once preparations are complete.¹