Meta's Muse AI Can Call Businesses for Users, But Many Hang Up on the Bot

Meta's consumer AI agent Muse has officially rolled out a calling feature to paid subscribers in the US, allowing users to delegate calls to cable companies, DMVs, and restaurants for appointments and customer service. The feature, tested in September, now reaches over 10 million Muse users, with plans to extend to free users. This marks the first time the AI calling capability demonstrated by Google Duplex in 2018 has become a standard feature of a persistent agent.

However, real-world adoption faces significant friction: many businesses hang up immediately upon recognizing an AI caller, forcing Meta to adjust its approach. While synthetic voices are increasingly realistic, merchant resistance remains a major obstacle. Google Gemini, Instinct, and xAI Grok Bot already offer similar capabilities, while OpenAI and Anthropic have yet to follow, positioning Meta at the forefront of the consumer AI agent race.

The development highlights a critical challenge as AI agents move from demos to daily use: technical feasibility does not guarantee social acceptance. Hang-ups reflect distrust of AI replacing human communication and could slow adoption. Meta must balance technical refinement with user education, while realistic synthetic voices may spark new ethical and regulatory debates. For the industry, Muse's experience offers valuable lessons for other agent developers.