Meta's Muse agent has attracted more than 10 million users within weeks of its release, but it is expensive and unprofitable. Deutsche Bank analysts estimate the free tier costs Meta about $40 per user per month.
Meta Platforms' Muse AI agent has more than 10 million users, and 25% of them use it nearly every day, just a few weeks after release. The problem, according to The Motley Fool, is cost: Muse is expensive and unprofitable.
Muse adds to a heavy AI spending bill
Meta is spending nearly $145 billion this year on AI-related capital expenditures. The Motley Fool argues there is virtually no way for Meta to recoup that through Muse subscriptions.
Microsoft's position differs. Its management said the company will spend up to $190 billion on capital expenditures this year, most of it on AI infrastructure. However, Microsoft sells AI services directly, and Azure's annualized revenue run rate topped $100 billion for the first time in its fiscal 2026.
Meta, by contrast, generates nearly 98% of its revenue from advertising. The article says it is much harder to insert ads into a conversation with an AI agent, so Meta likely will not find ads in Muse as easy or as lucrative as in Facebook or Instagram.
The free tier drives the cost
Muse offers paid tiers at $20 and $100 per month, but most users stick to the free version, which has a limited number of requests. Deutsche Bank analysts estimate that the free tier, which gives each user 100 million AI tokens per month, probably costs Meta about $40 per user per month.
Higher tiers could cost Meta even more. For comparison, SemiAnalysis says OpenAI's ChatGPT Pro plan costs users $200 per month but can cost the company up to $14,000 in token usage.
Monetization is still ahead
CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on the third-quarter earnings call that he expects to eventually charge businesses fees on transactions Muse makes. Meta is not doing that yet, and Zuckerberg said the company intends to keep the free version free.
Competition is also building, with OpenAI's dots and Anthropic's Duet in the field. For now, Muse costs Meta money, carries no ads and earns no transaction fees.
Source: The Motley Fool
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