Meta has rolled out a new feature for its Muse AI agent. Paying subscribers in the United States can now ask Muse to dial a business and speak on their behalf. The rollout follows a September test and is now generally available. The move mirrors Google’s Duplex demo from 2018, but this time the capability is built into a consumer‑facing product that already has more than 10 million users.
The feature is aimed at chores that most people avoid: calling a cable provider, the Department of Motor Vehicles, or a restaurant that doesn’t take online reservations. Muse will navigate menus, wait on hold and repeat information without complaint. Meta says the AI can stay on hold indefinitely, something human callers often abandon.
How the service works and its limits
Only users who pay for Muse can use the calling function. Subscription plans start at $20 per month for 500 million tokens a week, with a $100 tier for 3 billion tokens. The service is limited to US businesses for now, and Meta plans to add a free email address for all users later this year.
Many companies still detect synthetic voices and hang up. In September, Meta temporarily added human operators to finish calls that were cut off, echoing Google’s early experience where one in four Duplex calls needed a human fallback. Synthetic voices are getting more realistic, but the detection arms race continues.
Why it matters for everyday callers
For people fed up with long hold times and endless menu trees, Muse offers an alternative that never gets impatient. It can free up time for tasks that require a human voice, like negotiating a service issue, while the AI handles the rote parts. However, users should expect that some businesses will still refuse the call, so the feature isn’t a guarantee of success.
Why it matters
Regular callers can let Muse handle boring phone tasks, saving time and avoiding the frustration of hold music. The service still faces rejection from businesses that recognize AI voices, so it won’t replace all human calls but could reduce the number of calls people need to make themselves.
