Meta Muse and OpenAI Dots push AI assistants toward doing tasks online

In short: Meta’s Muse and OpenAI’s Dots are part of a growing shift toward AI assistants that try to do online tasks for you, not just answer questions.

What's going on

Meta’s Muse and OpenAI’s Dots are designed to act more like helpers that can click through websites and services on your behalf. Instead of only chatting, they can search for job listings, draft and manage emails, plan travel steps, and even try to book restaurant reservations.

A key feature is that they can keep working after you leave the app. Think of it like asking someone to “handle this errand” and checking back later, rather than staying on the phone the whole time.

Early testing suggests the idea can work, at least sometimes. One report said these tools successfully booked a table at a very hard-to-get restaurant and submitted job applications. Other tests found they can get stuck when websites block automated behavior, or when the assistant hits technical errors, so results can vary a lot depending on the site and the task.

What to watch

To do real tasks, these assistants may need access to your accounts, personal information, and sometimes payment details. Meta and OpenAI describe permission controls for sensitive actions, but mistakes are still possible. For now, the safest approach is to treat them like supervised assistants, meaning you should review what they are about to send, submit, or buy before you rely on them for anything important.

Source: NYTimes