Meta gets to consumer AI device market before OpenAI, but Zuckerberg's strategy remains unproven

Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Meta Platforms Inc., reveals the Muse Charm device during the Meta Connect event in Menlo Park, California, US, on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026.

Minh Connors | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has long been set on owning the hardware that consumers use to access his company's apps. As he pushes to make the Muse AI agent the "centerpiece" of Meta's AI strategy, he's counting on a slew of forthcoming devices to turn his dream into reality.

At Meta's annual Connect conference, which landed a week before OpenAI's big event for developers, the company said that by the end of 2026, "there will be over 100 styles of AI glasses," and Zuckerberg on Wednesday revealed a pendant called the Muse Charm, though he didn't offer a price.

Meta was late to the generative AI game, badly trailing OpenAI, Anthropic and Google, which all have popular AI models and a host of services used by consumers and businesses. Zuckerberg is trying to make up for lost time with Muse, an app that can act as a personal assistant, responding to emails, booking travel and shopping on a user's behalf.

Investors are buying in, lifting the stock 4.5% on Thursday and more than 25% since Meta announced Muse earlier this month. They're betting that, while Zuckerberg never found a big market for virtual reality after changing his company's name to Meta five years ago and shifting its strategy to the metaverse, he's now on the right track.

"Meta Connect 2026 more explicitly attached Muse AI as a killer app fused deeply into the hardware strategy, from AR glasses and extending into Muse Charm, a dedicated keychain-like device providing rapid access to Muse," wrote analysts at Mizuho, in a report on Thursday. The firm, which recommends buying the stock, said Meta's AI advancements will continue "to drive multiple expansion in Meta shares."

OpenAI didn't respond to a request for comment.

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