Meta just got its AI agent onto the Apple Watch before Apple got a really capable one there itself. That’s the interesting part of this update, and it says more than the feature list does.
Meta updated its Muse app for iOS to add Apple Watch support. Muse shows up on the watch as a character, and you can text it, dictate to it, or call it. There’s also a Muse complication, so you can open it from the watch face in one tap. Muse is Meta’s personal AI agent, built to complete tasks for users rather than just answer questions. It runs as a standalone app and is also built into Instagram, Facebook, and other Meta apps.
On its own, this is a modest release. A watch app with three input options is table stakes by now. But the context matters. Meta has a huge distribution advantage through its social apps, yet it has no phone or watch platform of its own. Apple controls the operating system, the default assistant, and the hardware people wear all day. So Meta has to get its AI onto Apple devices through the App Store, one integration at a time.
That’s a real constraint. A third-party assistant on the Apple Watch can’t be triggered by the side button the way Siri can, and it can’t hook into the system as deeply. The complication is the workaround. It’s the closest a rival can get to a front-row seat on the wrist.
Compare that to the competition. OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini have both pushed hard to be the assistant people reach for first, and both face the same platform limits on iPhone. Google has an easier time on Wear OS, where Gemini is a native option. Meta has no equivalent, which is why its wearables push has leaned on smart glasses, where it controls the experience end to end.
Does this matter? For most Apple Watch owners, probably not yet. The watch is a clumsy place for long AI conversations, and a short dictated request only works if the agent actually finishes the task. That’s the real test for Muse, and a watch app doesn’t change it. Whether it handles errands reliably is what will decide if anyone keeps that complication on their face.
Still, the direction is clear. Every major AI company wants to be one tap away, on every screen you own. Meta is making that move on hardware it doesn’t control, and that tells you how much it wants the habit.
