Meta gets to consumer AI device market before OpenAI, but Zuckerberg's strategy remains unproven

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has long been set on owning the hardware that consumers use to access his company's apps. As he pushes to make the Muse AI agent the "centerpiece" of Meta's AI strategy, he's counting on a slew of forthcoming devices to turn his dream into reality.

At Meta's annual Connect conference, which landed a week before OpenAI's big event for developers, the company said that by the end of 2026, "there will be over 100 styles of AI glasses," and Zuckerberg on Wednesday revealed a pendant called the Muse Charm, though he didn't offer a price.

Meta was late to the generative AI game, badly trailing OpenAI, Anthropic and Google, which all have popular AI models and a host of services used by consumers and businesses. Zuckerberg is trying to make up for lost time with Muse, an app that can act as a personal assistant, responding to emails, booking travel and shopping on a user's behalf.

Investors are buying in, lifting the stock 4.5% on Thursday and more than 25% since Meta announced Muse earlier this month. They're betting that, while Zuckerberg never found a big market for virtual reality after changing his company's name to Meta five years ago and shifting its strategy to the metaverse, he's now on the right track.

"Meta Connect 2026 more explicitly attached Muse AI as a killer app fused deeply into the hardware strategy, from AR glasses and extending into Muse Charm, a dedicated keychain-like device providing rapid access to Muse," wrote analysts at Mizuho, in a report on Thursday. The firm, which recommends buying the stock, said Meta's AI advancements will continue "to drive multiple expansion in Meta shares."

The Muse Charm resembles a cross between a kid's Tamagotchi keychain and a wearable medical buzzer. Zuckerberg said Meta still needs to finalize the "finishing material" and "laying out the components" to have it ready to ship for the holidays.

As ChatGPT creator OpenAI gears up for its DevDay conference next week, anticipation has been building that Sam Altman's company may show off its long-awaited hardware product, which will reportedly be a hockey puck-like speaker.

OpenAI didn't respond to a request for comment.

In getting out ahead of OpenAI, Zuckerberg is building on the momentum of Muse, which skyrocketed to the top of Apple's App Store, eclipsing ChatGPT. Meanwhile, OpenAI and Anthropic are dealing with intensifying concerns about their market-leading AI models, as critics and company execs sound the alarm about potential harms to humanity.

For Zuckerberg, the Muse Charm is just his latest hardware endeavor as he tries to end his company's reliance on Apple for distribution. It's been a particularly sticky matter since Apple changed its privacy policy in 2021, limiting the ability for app developers to target users with adds.

Meta has found some success in smart glasses through a partnership with Ray-Ban parent EssilorLuxottica. The company said Wednesday that in the coming months it will be bringing Muse to its smart glasses, offering "hands-free access, activated by saying your agent's name."

Meta also unveiled Meta VR Glasses, which are slimmer and lighter than the older Quest-branded VR headsets, but are also more expensive, costing $1,299 when they go on sale next year. It's Meta's first VR device since 2024, when the company debuted the $299 Quest 3S.

The pendant represents an entirely new device category, but many experts say there's no clear sense of market demand given the ubiquity and capability of smartphones. Zuckerberg said it will contain a fingerprint sensor that, when activated, lets people talk to their AI agent.

"Why would I carry another device?" said Anthony Ferry, CEO of the e-commerce company Wayvia, in an interview after watching the Connect presentation. For it to be valuable, it has to be "easier than using my phone," he said, adding that, "If I still have to pull out my phone to finish the job or fix the order, it's just another thing to charge."

Anshika Jain, an analyst at Counterpoint Research, said she can see the appeal.

"Meta's Muse Charm reflects a broader shift in how consumers may interact with AI in real time, with a more convenient and simpler interface for everyday life," Jain said in an email. "At the core is the Muse AI agent, which is designed to understand context and take actions in a faster way rather than just responding to queries."

Jain said the Muse Charm could find "use cases such as asking questions, getting reminders, planning or accessing information while on the go."

In addition to proving that the sudden emergence of Muse isn't just a passing fad, Zuckerberg also has to find a workable economic model for the AI agent. Amazon blocked Meta's Muse from scanning its site to shop on behalf of customers, following similar moves against Perplexity, OpenAI and Google.

Zuckerberg said he expects that "over time we will profit by taking a small fee from transactions."

Ferry said companies will "need to look at whether this is actually growing their business," and not merely benefiting Meta's bottom line.

"If it brings you a customer you wouldn't have reached, great," Ferry said. "But if the same customer buys the same product through another channel, that isn't automatically a new sale. You have to understand what it costs and whether you're getting additional business for that money."

Ralph Schackart, an analyst at William Blair, wrote in a report Thursday that, "Meta outlined a clear monetization framework, with the company expecting to generate revenue primarily by taking a small fee on transactions completed through Muse while keeping the product free for most users."

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