Meta unveils avatar video chats and glasses integration for Muse AI agent
At its Connect event, Meta introduced a real-time avatar feature for its Muse AI agent, enabling video chats with a digital persona. The company also announced deeper integration with Meta AI glasses and plans to monetize the agent by taking a small fee from transactions. Zuckerberg described Muse as a personal superintelligence aimed at automating everyday tasks across users' apps and services.
Muse launched in early September, powered by Meta's Muse Spark multimodal model designed for agentic tasks. The new avatar feature relies on a separate model, Muse Realtime Avatar, giving the previously faceless agent a digital persona named Jolly. This allows live video conversations where users can assign tasks and ask questions.
Meta plans to keep Muse free for a substantial token allowance, with future revenue derived from a small cut of transactions. The agent connects to email, calendars, and other services. For Mac users, Muse can operate any desktop application, letting users delegate work and walk away, as Meta's chief AI officer noted it could assist with small business operations.
The integration of Muse into glasses and desktops could significantly alter daily routines, potentially reducing friction in scheduling and shopping but also raising privacy questions about always-on microphones. As users delegate more tasks, reliance on a single corporate AI may concentrate power in Meta's hands. The transaction-fee model could reshape e-commerce, while small businesses might gain efficiency, though individual workers may face pressure to adapt to AI-driven workflows.