Nov 5 | Everything Changes.

Muse will be the top installed app for a while thanks to Meta’s distribution might.. But they are starting to have a retention issue: most people still don’t know what to do with a personal agent, so they lose interest after a while. I bet Muse will get much more proactive rather than reactive like it is today: “I can take care of this for you. Want me to?” I think there are a LOT of money saving opportunities in finance “Your credit card is charging 27% interest. You qualify for a much cheaper way to pay it off. Want me to move it?” “You have $8,000 sitting in checking earning almost nothing. Want me to move the excess to a higher-yield account?” “You’re paying off three debts. Putting your extra $300 toward this one first will save the most interest. Want me to change the payments?” “Your car insurance just went up 22%. Want me to shop for a cheaper policy?” “You’re paying for two subscriptions you haven’t used in months. Want me to cancel them?” “Your employer will match another 2% of your 401(k) contributions. Want me to increase it?” “Your credit card annual fee is coming up, but you barely used the benefits. Want me to downgrade it?” Other non finance examples: “Your kid’s soccer practice moved to 6:30. Want me to tell your spouse and update the calendar?” “This group chat has been trying to pick a restaurant for three days. Friday at 7 works for everyone. Want me to book it?” “Your package is delayed and will now arrive while you’re at work. Want me to change the delivery?” “Your sister’s birthday is Saturday. Here are three gift ideas under $50.” “You usually order groceries on Sunday. Want me to rebuild last week’s cart?” “You told your friend you’d send them those photos. Want me to do it?” “You’re running late for dinner. Want me to text the group your ETA?” “One of the Marketplace couches you saved just dropped $100. Want me to message the seller?” “Your flight is delayed. Want me to tell the person picking you up?” “You’ve been trying to make plans with three friends. Saturday afternoon is the only time everyone is free. Want me to organize it?” “Your dentist asked you to reschedule. I found three open appointments that work with your calendar. Pick one?” “Your child’s school sent a permission slip due Friday. Want me to remind you tonight?” “You said you need to return something to Target. The return window closes in four days. Want me to remind you when you’re near one?” Basically moving from: You think of a task → you ask → AI helps. To: AI notices something → suggests an action → you approve. Then you trust it and Muse handles routine things automatically and tells you afterward. IMO people aren’t going to keep opening an agent because it can answer questions, unless they are subbing muse for ChatGPT; I don’t think it’s there yet… They’ll keep opening it because it keeps saving them time, remembering things they forgot, and taking annoying little tasks off their plate.

.@benthompson says consumer AI has a marketing problem because the average consumer doesn't actually want to be more productive. "Tech companies are like, 'Let us book your flight for you!' I’ve had a personal assistant for 10 years. He does not come within an inch of booking my flights for me. That is crazy talk." "I understand which ones are gonna be delayed. I know which seat I want to be on. So the fact that this is continually a demo is hilarious to me." “Number two: people love shopping. They don’t want to be productive. They want to be entertained. One of the biggest forms of entertainment is shopping.” "Also, there’s so much information on a product page. Companies have spent so much energy focusing on that. You look at apparel as a category. They’re going to tell you what size the model is wearing, and you want to know that, and you want to look at the different styles." "The idea of having a personal agent that’s going and getting some of the information and bringing it back to you, and then you’re like, 'Well, what about this other thing? Tell me about this thing.'" "And you have your eager tech company executive say, “Oh, I have an assistant that can do it for you!" "And it’s like, no. Not only do I want to do it, I want to complain about it. I’m enjoying myself complaining right now, okay? Would you just let me be and live my life?"

A guy will buy the iPhone 18 Pro Max this month. He'll transfer his data from his old phone. He'll set a wallpaper. He'll arrange his apps. He'll open Instagram. And for the next 2 years, he'll use the most advanced smartphone ever built to scroll social media, send texts, take photos on auto mode, and check email the same 5 tasks he performed on the iPhone 13 Pro he's replacing. He won't discover the variable aperture camera that gives him DSLR-level depth-of-field control for the first time in iPhone history. He won't configure the Action Button that replaces 3 daily app-hunting routines with a single press. He won't set the battery charge limit that adds 2 years to the battery's lifespan. He won't use Back Tap to launch shortcuts by tapping the back of the phone twice. He won't adjust the flashlight beam width from spotlight to floodlight. He won't activate the keyboard trackpad hidden inside the spacebar. He won't turn on StandBy mode that transforms the phone into a bedside smart display while charging. His coworker a former Apple Store Genius who spent 4 years watching customers use 20% of their iPhones told him the iPhone 18 Pro Max ships with iOS 27 and approximately 400 features most owners never open. "The phone doesn't need to be more powerful. You need to explore more than 20% of what's already there." She showed him 11 hidden features that transform the iPhone 18 Pro Max from a $1,499 social media scroller into the device Apple actually built. Here's the full playbook 🧵