In a fresh investor report released today, Bank of America warns that Meta’s newly launched Muse AI agent underscores a rising concern: third-party AI assistants may increasingly circumvent Apple’s walled garden and erode its services income. Here’s a breakdown of the key points.
BofA Keeps “Buy” Rating Despite Concerns
Apple’s stock fell over 2.5% today following comments from Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan, who cautioned that AI agents like Meta’s Muse might start commanding product discovery, referrals, and transaction flows traditionally managed within Apple’s ecosystem.
Mohan, in excerpts shared by Seeking Alpha:
“Apple risks retaining all device sales but losing control over discovery, referral, and transaction initiation.”
His analysis arrives as Meta’s Muse climbs toward two weeks at the top spot among free apps on the U.S. App Store. Per Sensor Tower data referenced by TechCrunch, Muse has already crossed 3.4 million downloads as of last week.
Muse, an OpenClaw-style AI assistant, can navigate websites, complete forms, arrange travel, draft emails, and shop autonomously. Its popularity surged quickly—it overtook ChatGPT in just ten days to claim the No. 1 position on the U.S. App Store.
Returning to Mohan’s insights, he reaffirmed his “Buy” recommendation and $370 per-share target for Apple, suggesting that even with fresh challenges from AI agents, Apple remains well-positioned as a long-term beneficiary of edge-based AI.
An excerpt from his report via Yahoo! Finance:
“Whoever the agent selects becomes the merchant; whoever owns the agent captures the routing revenue once tied to operating systems, search engines, and app stores.”
Mohan highlights Muse’s expanding network of commerce partners—including Shopify and Shop Pay, Expedia, and PayPal—as evidence of how AI agents are beginning to manage end-to-end purchasing experiences.
He also observes that current iPhones are already equipped with sufficient processing power to run AI agents efficiently, meaning the real hurdle lies in software compatibility and system integration for Apple.
According to Mohan, Apple must align its Services, chip design, payments, privacy, and Siri AI divisions more rapidly if it hopes to compete for what he dubs the “intent economy.”
Regarding Siri AI specifically, Mohan notes it lags behind Muse in areas such as continuous background operations, wide third-party app interaction, and integrated payment mechanisms.
He contrasts their development cycles too—Apple typically releases major OS upgrades annually, whereas AI agents evolve continuously.
Still, Mohan believes Apple’s extensive installed base and strong stance on user privacy give it distinct advantages, especially when persuading consumers to allow AI agents access to personal tasks.
Are you experimenting with AI tools like Muse? Share your thoughts in the comments.
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