Meta Introduces “Muse” AI Agent to Tackle Subscription Overload

At the Meta Connect event in Menlo Park, California, in September 2026, Meta Platforms Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled Muse, an AI-driven personal assistant designed to locate and cancel forgotten recurring charges. The device expands the functionality of existing subscription-management tools by integrating broader personal-assistant capabilities.

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A Mastercard and FT Strategies report released in April 2025 found that 44 % of U.S. consumers increased their subscription spending that year, with average annual outlays rising to $1,887 (about $157 per month). Bank of America payments data showed a 7.7 % year-over-year rise in subscription spend for July 2025, driven largely by entertainment and retail services, which together accounted for roughly 43 % of total subscription revenue.

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ScribeUp, a fintech firm embedding subscription-management tech in banking apps, reports that its median user now carries more than 12 recurring payments, with one-in-four users managing 20 or more. The proportion of users with at least eight subscriptions grew from 62 % to 71 % over the past year, and the average canceled subscription costs $17.

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Apollo chief economist Torsten Slok warned that widespread adoption of AI agents like Muse could redirect household cash into higher-yield accounts (3.3 %–5.0 % versus the 0.1 % national average on checking accounts). If many households shift balances, banks could lose a substantial share of low-cost deposits that fund loans, posing a systemic risk to the broader financial system.

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Stanford economics professor Neale Mahoney, director of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, noted that consumer inertia allows subscription sellers to roughly double revenue, but AI agents could weaken both “forgetting” and “cancellation friction.”

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Jordan Mackler, co-founder and CEO of ScribeUp, said the rise in recurring bills predates Muse’s AI features and reflects a broader shift in consumer behavior, with users increasingly seeking tools to manage mounting subscription costs.

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• “We found that when people are forced to decide, they are about four times more likely to cancel,” — Neale Mahoney

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• “More of life is becoming a recurring bill. Those bills cost more every year, and it becomes increasingly difficult for consumers to keep track of everything they are paying for,” — Jordan Mackler, the company's co-founder and CEO

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