Meta’s new Muse AI has taken the Instagram handle @Muse from longtime British rock band Muse, which now uses @MuseBand on the social media platform.
Meta has launched its new AI assistant, Muse, and it’s already created some branding controversy after fans of the British rock band of the same name noticed that the group no longer uses the handle @muse on Instagram. Instead, the band Muse, which has over 2.7 million followers on Instagram and has used the name Muse for over 30 years, is relegated to using @museband on the social media platform.
While Muse actually started using @museband a few months ago, fans speculated that the change meant something was in the works at Instagram’s parent company. Mark Zuckerberg’s formal announcement of Meta’s Muse AI on Tuesday confirmed that suspicion.
Of course, fans of the band were quick to point out the irony in a longstanding IP being cast aside for Instagram’s owner’s latest project.
“Wouldn’t be like an AI company to take something and repurpose it as their own,” quipped one user. “Great knowing that your branding means nothing to social media companies who can and will just steal your name online for pet projects,” wrote another.
That said, there’s no evidence to suggest that Meta forcibly removed the username from the band. Muse started using the @museband handle in early June, and it’s entirely possible they received some sort of compensation from Instagram/Meta for relinquishing the @muse handle.
Muse has been on the scene since 1994, having formed in Teignmouth, Devon. The band has become one of Britain’s biggest rock acts and released their 10th studio album, The WOW! Signal, back in June—around the same time their Instagram handle changed.
According to Zuckerberg, Muse is a personal AI agent designed to take action rather than simply regurgitate information. The company says users can ask Muse to send emails, fill out forms, organize schedules, book trips, and make purchases. The agentic AI continues to work even after the app you close the app and notifies you when it either needs approval or has completed a task.
It works inside what Meta calls Muse Secure VM, a dedicated virtual computer designed to keep a user’s data isolated. Meta says users control which services the agent can access and can specify actions that require approval, particularly before sensitive actions.
