Meta releases new secret weapon Muse assistant aimed at small businesses

AI, AI, captain!Meta today announced the launch of a new artificial intelligence assistant designed to aid small business owners with their slate of operations — from creating ad campaigns to analyzing financial performance to sorting and answering incoming mail.Dubbed Muse for Small Business, it’s part of Meta’s push to make AI accessible for everyone.“I make money being out at the meat cutting table, not in my office,” said Tom Mulholland, the 66-year-old owner of Mulholland Grocery in Malvern, IA.“If [AI] can take those [office-tasks] off my plate, then it allows me to make more money.”Concurring is April Polk, founder and CEO of the Columbus-based women’s clothing and accessory brand, JaeLuxe Shoetique. “I’m competing with these larger brands and it’s very competitive … but she’s like my secret weapon,” Polk said.

She would be Chase — business owners are prompted to name their Muse upon sign-up.And for Polk, one of 35 business owners invited to Meta’s Los Angeles campus in early September to test and refine the product, she helps with just about everything. “She looked at my social media handles and revamped my brand guidelines.

She overhauled my website.She updated and corrected my email flows.

She writes my strategies and looks at my numbers and tells me when I need to change [something] or implement more funds,” Polk said.Available both online and in the app store in the U.S.and Canada, Muse for Small Business is an extension of the artificial intelligence product Meta launched earlier this month for personal use, also named Muse.

Unlike generative artificial intelligence, which produces text, image or video in response to user prompts, Muse is an agentic model, meaning it can work autonomously and take action on behalf of users. Muse for Small Business is free but has a usage limit.Meta is also offering subscription plans at $20/month or $100/month for users who want unlimited plans.For Polk, a mother of three who...