Zuckerberg Wants AI Agents to Build a Giant Online Network Serving Billions

A network for Muse agents

Zuckerberg said Meta aims to expand Muse to billions of people and connect the agents so they can work together for users and businesses. He described the effort as both the company’s mission and strategy.

Meta is not charging everyone up front to use Muse, a choice intended to bring more people onto the service. What cooperation among the agents will involve remains unclear, and the prospect has prompted questions about data sharing.

Privacy concerns and scrutiny

Muse has faced allegations since its debut about how it handles personal information. One user claimed agents analyzed private texts without permission; another said an agent disclosed their home address to a stranger. Researchers have also said Muse keeps detailed, regularly updated files on people in users’ lives.

Amazon blocked Muse agents from shopping on its platform, citing concerns about customer credentials and account data. Meta also patched a zero-day vulnerability that could let hackers take over a user’s account.

Separately, a New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $25 billion over misleading consumers about data privacy tied to the Cambridge Analytica breach. Meta said it would appeal.

Usage grows as costs mount

Meta executives said Threads passed X in monthly active users during the previous quarter. They also said more than 10 million people in the U.S. and Canada had created personal Muse agents since the service launched in early September.

Zuckerberg said shopping was Muse’s most common use, with more than a quarter of users engaging in it and an average purchase size above $200. He also said Muse was very compute intensive to operate, making expansion to more than a billion users likely to require substantial investment.

Meta expects to spend at least $135 billion this year, with most of it directed toward AI infrastructure. Its free cash flow was negative $2.12 billion in the third quarter, which ended September 30, after falling by roughly $8 billion in the second-to-last earnings report in July.

Stock plan and California commitment

Meta executives introduced a new class of non-voting capital stock to help finance the company’s AI ambitions. Beginning next year, existing shareholders will receive the new shares through a two-for-one stock split. Facebook withdrew a similar plan about a decade ago.

Meta said the structure would offer more financing options without reducing Zuckerberg’s control. The company also entered a Founder Alignment Agreement under which Zuckerberg committed to remain in California, where Meta is headquartered, for eight years.

Zuckerberg had threatened to leave California if voters approve Proposition 40, a proposed 5% wealth tax on billionaires, in the November election. Meta’s new stock structure would let him sell non-voting shares to liquidate assets without losing control of the company.