Bank of America says Meta's Muse agent threatens Apple's services revenue
An investor note argues AI agents could intercept transactions that flow through the iPhone. Muse has topped the US App Store for almost two weeks, with 3.4 million downloads, 9to5Mac reports.
Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan warned in a note published Tuesday that third-party AI agents such as Meta's Muse could bypass Apple's ecosystem and erode its services revenue, 9to5Mac reported. Apple shares fell 2.5% after the note, and Mohan kept a Buy rating with a $370 price target.
Mohan wrote that Apple can keep every handset sale and still lose discovery, referral and transaction initiation, according to 9to5Mac. He credited Muse with things Siri lacks: persistent background tasks, wide third-party support and its own payment plumbing. Commerce partners include Shopify, Expedia and PayPal.
9to5Mac reported that Muse has held the top spot on the US App Store for nearly two weeks, took 10 days to overtake ChatGPT as the top free app, and had 3.4 million downloads as of last week. The source of those download figures was not stated in the article.
The Verge describes Muse as an agent Meta says can send emails and buy things online, if you trust Meta with your data and card. Mohan still expects Apple to be an eventual winner of AI at the edge, given its installed base and privacy reputation. Its teams must coordinate faster, he said.