Meta is developing Muse into an AI agent that can shop, complete purchases and potentially process payments through a first-party Meta Pay wallet, positioning it against Elon Musk’s effort to turn X into an everything app. Muse launched on Sept. 8 with capabilities including sending emails, booking travel, completing forms and negotiating for users. In the United States, users can connect Stripe’s Link wallet and authorize purchases across more than 1 million businesses, with single-use virtual cards available for other merchants. Shop Pay is also coming, while app researcher Jane Manchun Wong says Meta is working on Meta Pay for Muse. Reuters reported 2.8 million Muse downloads in its first 12 days, followed by a more than 20% gain in Meta’s stock. X is pursuing the reverse model through X Money, which is rolling out in the U.S. with peer-to-peer payments, a Visa debit card, direct deposit, bill payments, yield and cashback. Muse’s expansion depends on cooperation from retailers and payment providers: Amazon has blocked the agent from making purchases over unauthorized-activity, privacy and security concerns, while Shopify is integrating Muse with Shop Pay and PayPal has announced plans to support Muse shopping and checkout.