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Meta’s newest artificial intelligence app just did something ChatGPT couldn’t match in its own early days: it pulled ahead in downloads. Fresh estimates from market intelligence firm Apptopia show that Meta Muse app adoption in the U.S. and Canada outpaced ChatGPT’s during the first 12 days both apps were on the market, a signal that Meta’s cross-platform strategy may be paying off faster than expected.
Key takeaways
- Muse logged 1.8 million iOS downloads in the U.S. and Canada during its first 12 days, versus 1.3 million for ChatGPT in the same window, according to Apptopia.
- Muse reached 2.8 million total installs worldwide in its first 12 days.
- Muse’s U.S. daily active users hit 642,000 across platforms, compared with 231,000 for ChatGPT at the same stage, Apptopia found.
- The app climbed from No. 2 to No. 1 on the U.S. App Store shortly after launch, according to Business Insider.
- Meta has not released official figures on Muse’s downloads or user base.
Muse Outpaces ChatGPT in Early Download Metrics
Muse’s download numbers are beating ChatGPT’s launch-window performance, based on Apptopia’s side-by-side analysis of the two apps’ first 12 days. That comparison wasn’t easy to make until now, since the two products rolled out in very different ways.
Download Comparison in U.S. and Canada
ChatGPT’s mobile debut went global from day one, but it was iOS-only. Muse took the opposite approach: it launched on both the Apple App Store and Google Play, yet restricted its rollout to the U.S. and Canada. To make a fair comparison, Apptopia isolated iOS data from those two markets for both apps during their respective first 12 days. The result: Muse pulled in 1.8 million downloads compared with ChatGPT’s 1.3 million in the same stretch.
Global Install Figures
Zoom out to worldwide numbers, and Muse’s momentum looks even stronger. Apptopia counted 2.8 million total installs globally in the app’s first 12 days. That growth curve hasn’t leveled off either — Muse kept climbing app store charts well past its debut week, a pattern that suggests word-of-mouth or built-in promotion is still driving new users rather than a one-time launch spike.
Muse Leads in User Engagement and App Store Ranking
Downloads only tell part of the story — what matters more for Meta is whether people actually keep opening the app, and early data suggests they are. Apptopia’s daily active user estimates put Muse ahead of ChatGPT at the same point in each app’s rollout.
Daily Active Users Compared
Across all platforms in the U.S., Muse is drawing roughly 642,000 daily active users, compared with 231,000 for ChatGPT during its comparable launch period. Even when the comparison is narrowed to iOS only — leveling the field since ChatGPT launched exclusively on Apple’s platform — Muse still leads, with 359,000 daily active users against ChatGPT’s 231,000 from that same era.
U.S. App Store Ranking Shift
Muse’s trajectory on the charts backs up the usage data. The app opened at No. 2 overall on the U.S. App Store immediately after launch and has since risen to No. 1, according to Business Insider. That climb pushed Muse above ChatGPT in the rankings. Separately, analytics firm Appfigures noted around the same period that Muse had already crossed 1 million downloads, reinforcing the picture of an app gaining traction quickly rather than fading after an initial curiosity bump.
Meta’s Cross-Promotion Strategy Boosting Muse Adoption
Why is Muse moving this fast? Part of the answer likely lies in Meta’s built-in audience advantage rather than the app’s features alone. Apptopia’s data shows Muse’s early user base is heavily drawn from Meta’s existing ecosystem.
User Overlap with Facebook and Instagram
Over 95% of Muse’s users are also Facebook users, and 63% overlap with Instagram, according to Apptopia. That kind of overlap points to a captive audience Meta can tap into directly, something ChatGPT — built by OpenAI without a comparable social network — simply doesn’t have access to. Meta has used this playbook before: Threads leaned on integrations with Instagram and Facebook to grow past 500 million users, and Muse appears positioned to benefit from a similar push, especially since it also works inside WhatsApp.
Platform Availability and Cross-App Integration
Muse’s dual availability on iOS and Android, paired with its connections to Meta’s largest apps, gives it distribution advantages that ChatGPT’s original iOS-only launch didn’t have. This matters for the broader AI app race: if Meta can convert even a fraction of its billions of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp users into Muse users, the app’s growth curve could look very different from a standalone product competing purely on merit. It’s worth noting that Apptopia’s figures are third-party estimates, not confirmed internal data — the firm doesn’t have direct access to Meta’s systems, and Meta itself has not published any official statistics on Muse’s downloads or active users after being asked for comment.
Still, even treated as rough estimates, the numbers suggest Muse has real momentum in the U.S. and Canada at a stage when many new apps are already losing steam. Whether that translates into a durable, top-tier product for Meta — on the scale of Threads — will depend on whether engagement holds up once the initial download surge fades and users decide whether Muse earns a permanent spot on their home screen.
FAQ
How does Muse’s download performance compare to ChatGPT’s in the early launch days?
Muse has been downloaded 1.8 million times on iOS in the U.S. and Canada during its first 12 days, compared to ChatGPT’s 1.3 million downloads in the same period.
What are the daily active user numbers for Muse versus ChatGPT in the U.S.?
Muse has approximately 642,000 daily active users in the U.S. across platforms, which is significantly higher than ChatGPT’s 231,000 users during the comparable launch stage.
Has Meta officially shared any user statistics for Muse?
No, Meta has not publicly disclosed official user or download statistics for Muse.
What contributes to Muse’s strong adoption metrics compared to ChatGPT?
Muse’s cross-platform availability on iOS and Android, its integration with Meta’s Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp platforms, and Meta’s cross-promotion strategy contribute to its adoption.
Article produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence and reviewed by the editorial team.
English (US) ·