

The episode is about new updates to Meta’s consumer AI agent Muse, plus a separate Google AI calling feature. Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg says Meta is “going all in” on Muse, powered by MuseSpark, meant to automate everyday tasks across apps like email and calendars. Key new claims/features: a real-time “Muse Real-Time Avatar” that can video chat; integration with Meta smart glasses via a wake word for actions like workouts, meal logging, appointment booking, and product buying; Muse computer work coming to Mac with background task delegation and app control; an email address for background operation, plus adding Muse to email threads/forwarding emails.
shopping via Shopify/Link/ShopPay, payments via PayPal, retail partnerships (Best Buy, Gap, Sephora, Walmart, Wayfair), and connectors (GitHub, Notion, Granola).
none mentioned; hosts/reporters include Emron Shaikh, with stories by Sarah Perez, Kirsten Kurosek, Lucas Ropec, and other TechCrunch journalists.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes.
Discussion on Google’s new AI feature allowing Gemini to make calls.
“The feature will initially roll out to Pixel 11 owners who pay for a Gemini subscription in the good old US of A.”
Exploration of Meta's AI agent Muse and its features.
“Meta's personal AI agent Muse is only a few weeks old, and the social networking giant isn't wasting any time building out what may be its biggest bet on consumer AI to date.”

Get the gist, explore an idea or ask about something said.
On TechCrunch Daily Crunch, what are the key points of this episode?
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.
0:00This is TechCrunch.
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1:02To book a personalized enterprise demo, visit scribe.how.tcdaily. That's S-C-R-I-B-E.how.tcdaily. This episode is brought to you by ODSC AI. Join the thousands at ODSC West 2026 this October and be alongside the other AI practitioners and teams who are staying ahead of the field, learning from the best, and connecting with the community. Now, if you work in applied AI and data science, you have to be there. ODS US 2026 is happening in San Francisco, October 27th through the 29th. But you don't have to be there in person if you can't make it. You can also join virtually. So there's virtually no excuses not to participate in this hands-on training.
1:40You won't want to miss out on the more than 300 sessions covering agentic AI for enterprise, personal AI and workflow automation, physical AI and robotics, gen AI, data engineering, and responsible AI. These are workshops and boot camps taught by experts from companies like Google, OpenAI, Anthropic, Cursor, and Hugging Face, just to name a few. Not only is this a great place to network with other data scientists, ML engineers, AI researchers, and technical leaders, I also think this is an awesome opportunity to focus on real-world applications and skills you can use at work. And I mean, you can learn about a wide range of topics.
2:14Again, ODSC West 2026 is happening October 27th through the 29th in San Francisco and virtually. Go to odsc.ai slash west and use promo code tcdaily for an additional 15 % off your pass to odsc.ai west 2026. That's odsc.ai slash west and use code tcdaily to get an extra 15 % off on the number one AI builders and training conference. There's a ton coming to Meta's AI agent Muse and we're gonna talk about it. I'm Emron Shaikh and your daily crunch starts right now. Now, before we get into all things meta, Google is now letting Gemini call businesses with a new feature called Call For Me. The feature will initially roll out to Pixel 11 owners who pay for a Gemini subscription in the good old US of A.
3:01It will also require the use of the beta version of Google's phone app for Android, as it's still supposed to be an experiment. While Google has long offered calling features guided by AI, prior versions were limited in what they could do. With this update, well, Gemini will be able to share personal info that you approve as part of the calls it makes, which the company says will allow it to take a broader set of actions. Also, Google says users will be able to follow the call as it happens and take over at any time. Call for me will also use your own personal phone numbers to make calls, which will be dialed directly from your phone.
3:35Google says the AI can handle complex tasks like calling a store to ask if a product is in stock, making restaurant reservations, moving a scheduled appointment to a different date, or placing items on hold. The AI can call a business and introduce itself, navigate automated phone menus, wait on hold, and then handle the conversation on the other end. Meanwhile, users can watch how the call proceeds via a live transcript of the conversation. The launch builds on years of experiments with AI-assisted automated calling technology at Google. Google said it's starting this experiment at a small scale because real-world conversations are nuanced, and it needs time to get the future right before rolling it out more broadly.
4:18Meta's personal AI agent Muse is only a few weeks old, and the social networking giant isn't wasting any time building out what may be its biggest bet on consumer AI to date. CEO Mark Zuckerberg kicked off the company's annual Connect event in Menlo Park on Wednesday with a keynote that made one thing clear. Meta is going all in on Muse. The Muse agent, the physical avatar is named Jolly, according to the Zuck, is designed to handle everyday tasks by connecting to users' apps and services, including email and calendars. At Connect, the Zuck introduced a slew of new capabilities and integrations to make Muse more useful and more deeply woven into users' daily lives.
4:58Muse will be everywhere if the user chooses, including on their pervert glasses, I mean, Meta AI glasses. Muse, which launched in early September, interacts across a user's devices and digital accounts. The agent is powered by MuseSpark, Meta's multimodal AI model built for agentic work. Meta has touted it as a more accessible agent than those offered by competitors, an AI helper that, from the jump, allows users to automate the busy work in their lives. The Zuck also believes that Muse will make money for its users and, of course, eventually for Meta. Here are the new features and capabilities that got our attention.
5:36One of the more fun announcements made Wednesday is that Muse users will soon have the ability to conjure a distinct digital avatar for their particular agent and then video chat with it in real-time. A new AI model, Muse Real-Time Avatar, has been developed to power the particular feature, the company says. Now, the idea here is that Meta's previously faceless AI software will be given a face, body, and voice, making them significantly more personable. Now, of course, there's certainly a hint of Metaverse-ishness to this feature, which was demoed on stage at Connect. Users will be able to have live conversations with this avatar, giving it tasks and asking it questions.
6:15Muse will also be integrated with Meta's smart glasses line, the company announced. Now, this means that users will be able to communicate with their agent merely by speaking to their glasses. The agent activates via a wake word, the company said, adding that it will be able to guide users through a personalized workout, log meals, book an appointment, and help them buy products they see. Meta said Muse will work in the background and check back in when it's done. It's not clear exactly when this feature will become available, although Meta says that it should launch sometime in the coming months.
6:47Meta is also saying it's bringing Muse computer work to Mac. The company had previously talked about Muse coming to Mac and spent more time on Wednesday providing a few new details. This means that users will be able to delegate tasks to the agent and, much like other popular AI agents from OpenAI and Anthropic, Muse will be able to operate any app on a user's desktop. Since Muse will always be working in the background, it will naturally need its own email address. Meta announced it's developing that feature and will make it available soon without providing a more precise timeline. Users will also be able to add Muse to an email thread or forward emails from the agent to handle on their behalf.
7:26Meta has locked in partnerships with companies like Stripe and Shopify, illustrating that the company sees Muse as an important tool for shopping. I mean, Muse can access the entire Shopify product catalog agentically and use Link and Now ShopPay to buy almost anything on the internet. And Meta has also added more support for payments with PayPal. The company also announced a string of new partnerships with retailers, including Best Buy, Gap, Sephora, Walmart, and Wayfair. Muse will be able to connect with these retail apps, as well as with Expedia and soon Instacart. Other connectors include GitHub, Granola, and Notion.
8:03Meta noted that it wants Muse to connect with small business too. Meta recently opened its platform to allow developers to build their own connectors. The company received more than 1 ,500 applications in less than a week. And Meta's chief AI officer, Alexander Wang, said, I think this could be a generational opportunity to start building for a new platform as it takes off. And the response so far has been really great. And folks, that's your Daily Crunch. Today's stories were reported by Sarah Perez, Kirsten Kurosek, Lucas Ropec, and more awesome TechCrunch journalists. We'll see you here tomorrow.
8:36Same tech time, same crunch channel. And until then, find us at TechCrunch.com.
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Plus - Google tests letting Gemini call businesses for you
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