Meta Connect 2026: Muse AI takes center stage as Metaverse focus fades

At Meta Connect 2026, CEO Mark Zuckerberg shifted the company's strategic focus away from the Metaverse, emphasizing 'personal superintelligence' through its new AI agent, Muse. The keynote highlighted Muse's ability to act as a personal assistant capable of managing computer tasks, planning vacations, and handling shopping via new third-party connectors. Meta is integrating Muse into its hardware ecosystem, specifically the third-generation Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses, which Zuckerberg described as the ideal form factor for AI interaction. While the company previously invested heavily in virtual worlds, the current roadmap prioritizes AI-driven wearables and productivity tools. Muse is currently free, though Meta plans to monetize the agent through transaction fees. The company also introduced a developer platform to encourage third-party integrations, signaling a major pivot toward becoming an AI-first hardware and services provider.