Meta's personal AI agent Muse launches in Japan, its first market outside North America

On October 23 (Japan time), Meta began offering its personal AI agent "Muse" in Japan. It is available on iOS, Android, and muse.ai. Japan is the first region outside North America to receive the service, following its initial launch there in September of this year.

Meta launches personal AI agent "Muse" in Japan - Meta

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Muse is a service billed as "the world's first personal AI agent," designed so that anyone can use it easily. It is characterized not merely as a chatbot that answers questions, but as something that can actively support users in achieving their goals and actually carry out tasks. It is said to assist with everything from everyday chores to the realization of major goals, while prioritizing safety and privacy.

Along with the launch in Japan, the company announced a policy of advancing integrations not only with global services already used by many people, but also with domestic services such as Mercari, Money Forward ME, and Ticket Pia. The shift of AI from the stage of "answering" to the stage of "carrying things out on your behalf" appears to be gaining full momentum in Japan as well.

Just ask in chat, from planning to execution

Muse is designed around the way users normally communicate. From the Muse app, users can converse just as they would when sending a message to another person, and simply by telling it what needs to be done, Muse formulates a plan and carries out the necessary work.

The starting point of its design is that there is no need to learn special usage methods or commands. It can handle specific tasks such as sending emails and booking travel, and can also take on larger goals. When a user communicates a goal, Muse helps create a plan tailored to each individual, coordinates time and resources, and then proceeds with the work autonomously. It can also perform various operations on the user's behalf, such as opening a browser and filling in forms.

For time-consuming tasks, it continues working even after the user closes the app. When circumstances change, or when approval is needed—such as for sending an email or purchasing a product—it notifies the user and asks for their judgment. Muse can also remember what matters to the user and make suggestions or take actions based on past conversations. It is clear that the aim is to be a "personal" presence that provides continuous support while carrying over context, rather than ending with a one-off question and answer.

App version execution example

Connectors expand the scope of use

One major reason Muse can handle many tasks is its integration with external services called "connectors." By linking with apps and services that Japanese users already use, it supports a wide range of everyday work.

At the time of the announcement, the names mentioned include Gmail, Google Calendar, and Instagram. By linking with these, it becomes possible to manage email exchanges, coordinate schedules, utilize saved content, and carry out work according to objectives.

In addition, through integration with various globally deployed services such as Stripe, Shopify, Trip.com, Agoda, and Klook, it is envisioned for use in a wide range of situations, including shopping and travel planning and booking. The fact that its scope extends to areas involving reservations and purchases—such as payments, e-commerce, and travel—clearly reflects its character as an agent that goes beyond mere information search and text generation.

Expanding integration with Japanese services

What was particularly emphasized for the Japan rollout is integration with services familiar to domestic users. Along with the launch, the company said it will advance integration with the flea market app "Mercari," "Money Forward ME," which visualizes household finances and assets, and the ticket sales service "Ticket Pia."

The policy is to further advance integration with services that Japanese users use in their daily lives and to broaden the scope of Muse's use. The practicality of an agent depends greatly on the number and quality of its integration partners. Only by connecting with the services people normally use can the experience of "having things carried out on your behalf" be realized in concrete situations such as schedule management, shopping, understanding household finances, and arranging tickets, so the expansion of domestic partners will be an important factor in predicting future adoption.

In announcing this launch, Masahiro Aizawa, Representative Director of Meta Japan, made the following statement.

"Muse is a personal AI agent that advances various tasks on behalf of users and helps each individual focus on what truly matters to them. As we begin offering it in Japan, in addition to integrations with global services already used by many people, we will also advance integrations with domestic partners including Mercari, Inc., Money Forward Home, Inc., and Pia Corporation. By connecting Muse with the services users normally use, we want to provide experiences that are useful in a wider range of situations, such as shopping, travel, and everyday schedule management."

Toward more natural communication

Evolutions in communication are also being put forward. At the recently held Meta Connect, new Muse features that enable real-time conversation and can be used in a wider range of situations were introduced.

Specifically, in addition to an advanced voice mode that can process tasks in the background while sustaining long, natural conversations, "Muse Realtime Avatar (English only)," which realizes expressive avatars, and a Muse-exclusive email address that can be used for task processing and communication were announced.

However, the availability of these features in Japan is said to be announced separately, and it should be noted that not everything will become usable in Japan at the same time as this Japan launch. For details, users are asked to check the content of the Meta Connect announcement.

"Muse Secure VM" built on privacy and safety

Because personal agents handle areas close to email, calendars, and payments, safety concerns also tend to grow. Meta emphasizes that Muse is "designed with privacy, safety, and security as prerequisites."

The foundation for this is the dedicated virtual machine "Muse Secure VM." Muse reportedly runs in a dedicated, isolated cloud environment for each user and securely stores the data and credentials of connected services. Meta's view is that personal agents require a new form of secure computer.

Furthermore, an independent "Sentinel" agent manages access to the internet. Muse cannot see users' passwords or payment methods, and before important operations such as sending email or purchasing products, it confirms with the user themselves. Users can also check the history of operations Muse has performed and operations it plans to perform.

It is also made explicit that the user always retains control. Users can choose which apps to connect and the scope of access, and can change permissions or disconnect at any time. It is also possible to opt out so that interactions with Muse are not used to train Meta's AI models. Additionally, Muse does not share users' conversations or data within the virtual machine with Meta's advertising systems.

Pricing as of the announcement and the invite code campaign

Muse's basic features can be used for free. For users who want to make further use of it, the following two paid subscription plans are available.

Power plan ($20/month): 500 million Muse tokens per week

Maximum plan ($100/month): 3 billion Muse tokens per week

Additionally, an invite campaign is being run in which, when a new user registers using an invite code from a registered user, both the inviter and the invitee receive 1 billion Muse tokens (as of 11:00 on October 23, 2026).

What can be read from this announcement is a shift in the positioning of generative AI's role. The center of conventional conversational AI lay in "returning deliverables on the spot," such as answering questions or writing text. In contrast, when told a goal, Muse helps with planning, coordinates time and resources, and then autonomously proceeds with the work. The idea is to take on not only the deliverables but also the arrangements and execution before and after them.

This difference also shows up in how users engage with it. The mechanism by which work continues even after the app is closed, and notifications arrive when there are changes or when approval is needed, does not assume a usage style in which the user keeps giving instructions in front of the screen at all times. Users make a request, check in at the necessary milestones, and receive the results. The memory mechanism also supports this usage style. By enabling suggestions and actions based on past conversations and important matters, the aim is apparently to reduce the burden of having to explain the situation from scratch every time.

Of course, the broader the scope of what is delegated, the more important the boundary becomes: how far should it proceed autonomously, and where should human confirmation be inserted? In this announcement, identity verification before important operations such as sending email or purchasing products, and the ability to check operation history, are presented as one answer to that question.

Meta believes that personal superintelligence will become "one of the technologies that bring about the greatest transformation in our lifetime." Muse is the agent that serves as the first step, and it is positioned as aiming to help users focus on what is truly important to them by taking on more tasks.

What I want to pay attention to with this Japan rollout is how far users' usage will expand, from an AI you consult with in chat to an AI that works in coordination with actual services to advance tasks. The enrichment of connected services, the clarity of the approval process, and the assurance of safety through Secure VM and Sentinel will determine whether people feel they can trust it enough to delegate to it.

As the first market chosen outside North America, I will continue to watch closely how Japanese users receive this new form of agent.

At the same time, when and to what extent coordination with domestic partners will take concrete shape, and when the new features announced at Connect will become available in Japan, are points for which future announcements are awaited. It seems that not just the announcement of the service launch, but the speed of subsequent expansion of partnerships and feature rollout will hold the key to whether Muse becomes established as an everyday tool.