Meta vs. Microsoft: One AI Agent Has a Problem the Other Doesn’t.

Two tech giants have recently made major AI agent moves. Meta Platforms (META) launched Muse on Sept. 8, a personal agent that can book travel, send emails, and shop on a user’s behalf. It reached No. 1 on Apple’s (AAPL) U.S. App Store only 10 days later. Then on Sept. 25, Microsoft (MSFT) unveiled a redesigned Copilot built around agents. It brings Word, Excel, and PowerPoint inside Copilot and adds Autopilot, an agent that can handle multi-step work tasks on its own. Both companies want to own the AI that does work for you. But they’re chasing very different customers.

Meta’s Reach Comes With a Catch