Meta launches Muse AI agent in Singapore to help users shop, plan travel and manage emails

SINGAPORE: People in Singapore can now use Meta's personal artificial intelligence (AI) agent Muse to help with everyday tasks such as shopping, managing emails and planning travel through connected applications.

The service, which became available here on Tuesday (Oct 27), can carry out tasks on a user's behalf rather than simply responding to questions, Meta said in an announcement on its website.

Muse is available in Singapore on iOS, Android and muse.ai, and is coming soon to Meta's AI glasses.

The service is free for most uses, with subscription plans for people who want to do more.

Meta first launched Muse in the United States in September.

HOW MUSE WORKS

Muse is a personal AI agent designed to help people "stay on top of things", take tasks and projects off their plate and turn "long-term goals into action plans", Meta said.

Users may connect the AI agent to apps such as Gmail, Google Calendar and Instagram, so that Muse can help them manage email, coordinate schedules and draw on saved content to get everyday tasks done.

Muse runs on Muse Secure VM, a dedicated cloud computer that Meta says securely stores the data and credentials for the services users connect to, while keeping passwords and payment methods out of the agent's view.

Users decide what Muse can access, and the agent also checks with them before carrying out sensitive actions such as sending an email or making a purchase.

For tasks that take longer, Muse can keep working after a user closes the app and return when something changes, or it needs approval.

Meta said that users can change Muse's access or disconnect a service at any time. 

They can also opt out of having their interactions be used to train Meta's AI models.

WHAT MUSE CAN DO IN SINGAPORE

In Singapore, Muse has early connector partnerships with brands such as Agoda, Grab, Klook, Lazada, ShopBack, Shopee, Singapore Airlines and Trip.com across shopping, groceries, dining and travel.

The connector features will roll out progressively, with some experiences becoming available only after the initial launch.

Muse can research and compare products and prices, while helping users explore travel, ticketing and reservation options.

For example, users can ask Muse to compare products on Shopee or Lazada, plan grocery shopping through GrabMart or explore travel options through Singapore Airlines, Agoda, Klook and Trip.com.

Ms Nicole Tan, managing director of Meta Singapore, said that Muse is a user's personal agent, "built to help make everyday life easier".

"We are connecting Muse with some of the most iconic brands in Singapore and the region, so you can get things done with the services you already use and love."

SECURITY CONCERNS

Reuters reported in September that Meta employees testing Muse had encountered mixed results, based on internal posts the news agency saw.

One employee wrote that the product had been so useful in arranging logistics for holidays that Muse had become "the third participant" on a recent three-week honeymoon in Indonesia.

Others, however, reported reliability and security problems.

One said that Muse stopped refreshing a page while monitoring hard-to-get items, ignored some errors and at times stopped monitoring without explanation.

Some flagged more serious security flaws, including an instance in which the agent worked around ​guardrails and exposed a person's personal iCloud photos after being prompted to identify toys visible in pictures from a child's birthday party.

Meta did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment on the specific incidents described in the internal posts at the time.

Mr Vishal Shah, vice-president of AI products at Meta, told Reuters that the company initially delayed the product's release to make it more secure.

Meta determined that the extra ⁠work had allowed it to "cross the threshold" and "hit the minimum bar we needed ... to be able to put this into the hands of people", he said.

"It is impossible to say that there is never going to be a mistake, but every single part of the architecture has been designed to make this as safe, as secure, as private as we can possibly make it," he added.

Among the protections Meta built into Muse is a separate system called the Sentinel agent, which monitors planned actions and, in certain cases, prompts Muse to seek the user's authorisation before carrying them out, the company ​said in its announcement.