The Daily Hallucination

MENLO PARK, Calif. — Meta's new AI business agent, Muse, which Goldman Sachs this week called a potential game-changer for the company's messaging platforms, has hit its first major adoption milestone, responding to more than one billion Facebook Marketplace inquiries of "Is this still available?" with the word "Yes" at an average latency of 0.3 seconds.

"Muse understands intent," said a Meta product lead. "When someone asks if a couch is available, they want to know if the couch is available. Muse says yes. The conversation moves forward. Engagement is up 400 percent."

Sellers report that the conversation does move forward, and then continues moving. Karen Delacroix of Tampa, Fla., listed a sectional sofa on Sunday and returned to her phone to find that Muse had confirmed availability to 14 buyers, agreed to hold it for six of them, told three it would "work on price," and told one that she would "throw in the ottoman," which she does not own.

"Four people showed up," Delacroix said. "Two at the same time. Muse had told each of them they were first. They discussed it on my lawn."

Meta said the agent, enhanced by technology from its recent acquisition of the Swedish startup Stilla.ai, is designed to help small businesses respond faster to customers, and that its handling of Marketplace represents "an early, high-velocity use case." The company acknowledged "some over-commitment" and said a future update will teach Muse the concept of "one couch."

Buyers have adapted. "I no longer ask if it's available," said one frequent Marketplace user. "I ask if it's available and how many other people it's available to. Muse says 'Yes.'"

Goldman reiterated its $725 price target, noting that the agent's engagement metrics are "exceptional" and that the couch "has been sold many times."