Meta has decided to put a price on its AI ambitions. But even if the social media company manages to get millions of users to sign up for its new paid AI agent, the revenue from it would still be very small compared to its massive business.
Meta launched a personal AI agent on 8 September, which could send emails, book travel, fill out forms, and even negotiate on a user’s behalf. There is a free plan for it, but heavier users can opt for $20 or $100 monthly plans for greater capacity
Though it may seem like a promising idea with the potential to become a bigger success in the coming days, the bigger question is, how much money can these subscriptions actually bring in?
$20 vs $100: The revenue math
The Motley Fool’s calculation offers an estimate.
For example, if 1 million users paid $20 per month for the subscription, it would generate $240 million in annual revenue. If the same number of consumers opt for the $100-a-month plan, the total would be $1.2 billion a year. The number is substantial but relatively small for Meta.
The company’s 98% of total revenue comes from advertising, and for the second quarter, its advertising business generated about $60.8 billion in revenue.
That way, even if 5 million users subscribed to the $20 plan, Meta would generate about $1.2 billion a year. That would amount to only about 0.5% of the company’s annual revenue.
The $100 plan can increase revenue, but only if Meta can persuade a meaningful number of users to pay that much. For example, if Meta can get 5 million users to pay $100 per month, that would generate $6 billion in revenue.
Meta isn’t expecting everyone to pay
Meta has a different plan in mind. Meta’s AI chief Alexandr Wang has said that he expects the majority of users to get their jobs done within the free tier. The paid plans are primarily aimed at heavy users and can help offset the enormous computing costs of running AI agents.
So Muse’s subscriptions are unlikely to transform Meta’s financials anytime soon. Instead, the bigger opportunity could come from what happens after users start relying on their AI agents.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said Meta is developing personal agents that could become the foundation for new products and revenue streams. The company is also exploring taking a cut when users make purchases through Muse.
That means Muse could ultimately be far more valuable than the $20 and $100 subscriptions themselves.