Meta Unveils Muse AI Agent and Wearable Push at Connect

Meta used its annual Connect conference to unveil a consumer-facing artificial intelligence agent and a broad refresh of its wearable devices, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg framing the moment as a pivotal one for the industry.

Opening his keynote, Zuckerberg said views on how AI will develop vary widely across the sector, but described Meta as optimistic because it believes in people. He has separated himself from rival companies that have called for a coordinated slowdown in advanced AI development, contending that individual labs can and should make their own technology safe.

Zuckerberg argued that the best route to a positive future is to place power in people's hands, describing the highest purpose of superintelligence as creation and invention rather than automation. A safe future, he said, comes from distributing the technology widely and building proper checks and balances instead of concentrating it among a few players.

Muse takes centre stage

The company's newly launched agent, Muse, was presented as the centrepiece of that outlook. Meta's chief AI officer, Alexandr Wang, said having an agent — which can act and carry out tasks rather than merely chat — signals someone who is fully invested in AI. He said Muse is intended to make agents more accessible and bring personal superintelligence to everyone.

With the help of a plush-toy mascot, Wang and other senior leaders demonstrated everyday uses for the agent. Users can hold real-time voice conversations and video chats with a customised version that can be given a distinct look and voice. The agent can plan travel, book reservations and order groceries, aided by partnerships with companies including OpenTable, Spotify and Ticketmaster. Meta is working to bring Muse to its AI glasses for hands-free use, and plans a keychain-style device called Muse Charm, carrying the full Muse experience, in time for the December holidays.

Expanding the glasses range

Meta is launching an audio-only version of its smart glasses. Ray-Ban Meta Audio lets wearers listen to music, make calls and speak with an AI assistant, but has no screen and no video recording — a response to privacy concerns raised by users recording others without permission. It arrives in October starting at $349.

A hearing enhancement feature turns the glasses into what Zuckerberg described as an FDA-cleared, over-the-counter hearing aid able to compensate for perceived mild to moderate hearing loss, building on an earlier feature that helped wearers follow conversations in noisy settings.

Meta said it will offer more than 100 style options across its Ray-Ban, Oakley and Meta Glasses lines by the end of the year, and will sell the glasses in additional markets including Turkey, Hong Kong and the Philippines. The third-generation Ray-Ban Meta glasses are available now with a slimmer design and longer battery life, starting at $449.

A lighter VR device

The most sweeping change concerns Meta's virtual reality hardware, now called Meta VR Glasses. The bulky headset has given way to a set of glasses weighing about 100 grams, roughly the weight of a deck of cards and about a fifth of the 2023 Meta Quest 3. Instead of controllers or a neural wristband, the device relies on an eye-tracking camera and sensor, letting the eyes act as a cursor and finger gestures as clicks, with voice commands also available.

At a demo at Meta's Menlo Park headquarters, the company showed entertainment and work uses, including sports and concerts that mimic courtside or front-row seats. A feature called VR Enhanced Cinema transforms the viewer's surroundings beyond the screen into a virtual world inspired by the film, using dynamic effects, 3D visuals and spatial audio. For work, users can summon a virtual keyboard on any flat surface and use private virtual displays, or connect a Mac or Windows PC along with their own keyboard and mouse. Unlike earlier headsets, wearers can still see their desk and surroundings.

Zuckerberg's first live demo of the evening showed the glasses projecting a photorealistic hologram of a person, complete with real-time expressions, for hands-free video calling. The VR glasses are slated to launch in spring 2027 at $1,300.