Muse Helps Consumers Spend Less on 'Inertia Money'! Gyms, Streaming Services Once Deemed 'AI-Proof' Now Under Pressure – Market Reassesses Value of Netflix, The New York Times, Intuit

On September 8, Meta introduced Muse, a personal AI agent for consumers designed to automatically handle emails, shopping, itinerary planning, and inquiries about recurring payments based on simple instructions. Tasks run on a dedicated cloud virtual machine and continue in the background even after the app is closed. Before performing sensitive actions such as payments or subscription cancellations, Muse seeks user confirmation. This shift from merely providing answers to actually taking action is causing the market to reassess which business models rely on user 'inertia' for revenue.

According to Barron’s, Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Mathivanan stated on Tuesday (the 22nd) that early adoption of Muse shows rapid penetration, prompting him to raise Meta’s price target from $680 to $860 while maintaining an 'Overweight' rating. He cited Meta’s ability to leverage its vast social media user base to distribute personal AI agents and monetize through subscriptions.

JPMorgan also views Muse as the next widely adopted consumer AI application following ChatGPT, citing early download and active user data to revise its adoption forecasts upward.

Wall Street is more concerned about its disruptive potential. Goldman Sachs refers to businesses reliant on automatic renewals and habitual payments as part of the 'consumer inertia' concept. Muse can list recurring charges, compare prices, and cancel inactive subscriptions on behalf of users, thereby pressuring sectors such as fitness, news, insurance, streaming, travel, and tax-filing platforms. Companies named include Planet Fitness, The New York Times, Allstate, Netflix, Tripadvisor, and Intuit, with some stocks declining amid rising concerns.

Jackson Stone, Head and Chief Investment Officer at Neostellar, noted that AI agents reduce friction in cancellation, switching providers, and price comparison—making companies that previously relied on users 'forgetting to cancel' or 'being too lazy to switch' the most vulnerable. News websites are also losing traffic to chatbots and AI summaries, further pressuring ad click-through rates.

However, Stone believes the outlook isn’t entirely negative, suggesting that if AI agents simultaneously lower barriers to purchase, companies with advantages in pricing, supply, and service could capture new customer flows.

Some analysts also caution that high-trust domains like insurance and financial management remain difficult for AI agents to fully replace in the short term, implying that recent sell-offs may reflect expectations rather than immediate profit impacts.

Meta’s stock continued to strengthen after Muse’s release, closing up 1% on Wednesday (the 23rd) at $744.10 per share—a cumulative gain of approximately 21% since Muse’s announcement. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 remained largely flat during the same period. The market is now incorporating 'personal AI agents' into broader expectations around cloud computing power, distribution gateways, and the re-intermediation of consumer finance.