Meta's AI companion app Muse has passed 10 million downloads in the United States within its first 40 days, according to new data from market intelligence firm Sensor Tower reported by TechCrunch and 9to5Mac. Muse has now seen 10.9 million downloads since its September debut, 10.2 million of them in the US, making it only the 12th app ever to clear that bar since Sensor Tower began tracking apps in October 2015.
The milestone puts Meta's new AI assistant in rare company. Sensor Tower senior insights analyst Kara Lee said most of the other apps on that list were mobile games such as Fortnite, PUBG Mobile and Pokémon GO. The only non-game apps besides Muse were Meta's own Threads, in July 2023, and Disney+. Meta is leaning on its 3.6 billion daily active users and a heavy ad push to get there.
Muse retention beats ChatGPT, Claude and Grok
Keeping users after launch is a different test, and Sensor Tower says Muse is winning it against its main AI rivals. In the US, the app held a 30% retention rate after seven days and 23% after 14 days. ChatGPT, Claude and Grok averaged 19% at seven days and 16% at 14 days over the same period.
Engagement is climbing too. Muse reached 2.5 million daily active users for the first time on October 16, a 15% week-over-week increase, per Sensor Tower. The app has stayed at No. 1 on the US App Store every day except October 19, when the streaming app Kick briefly overtook it, and it has held the top spot on Google Play for the past 30 days.
How Muse compares to ChatGPT, Grok and Claude downloads
On raw US download speed, Muse's first 40 days far outpace the early numbers of its competitors. Sensor Tower says ChatGPT reached 3.7 million US downloads in its first 40 days, while Grok and Claude managed only 500,000 and 200,000 respectively.
Globally the picture is different: ChatGPT scaled to roughly 15 million downloads in its first 40 days, helped by wider availability in markets such as Japan, Brazil and Germany. Muse is only available in the US and Canada for now, so Sensor Tower treats the comparison as imperfect. The report also notes ChatGPT's US downloads have fallen 25% over the past 30 days compared with the previous 30-day period; ChatGPT is currently the fourth most downloaded free app on the US App Store, Claude is seventh and Grok 34th.
