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Information locked October 6, 2026

This week · 2026-W41

Meta's new AI agent, Muse, topped the US free iPhone app chart in September - it can act for you (email, travel, purchases) as well as answer. Free for most uses; it asks for access to your accounts, so read our security fellow's tips before you connect them.

Meta launches Muse, a personal AI agent that handles everyday tasks (2026-09-09) · Meta's Muse AI agent tops US iPhone free app chart (2026-09-21)

How we compare them

Learning and agencyDoes it help you learn and grow - a tutor, not a replacement?
AccessFree to try, works on a phone, in your language?
HonestyClear about its limits and mistakes, shows its sources?
Youth safetyAge rules, parental controls, how it treats young people's data - from reported evidence.

We name services so you know they exist - never as an ad, and nobody pays us. A service is ranked only once we have at least 3 dated, independent reports on it.

Our AI Guide's first scored ranking arrives with its weekly research - built only from dated, sourced reporting.

Watching (not enough evidence yet to rank): Muse (Meta).

Use it as a tutor, not a replacement

Copy one of these into any AI assistant. Each one makes the AI teach you, quiz you, or help you think - so you get smarter, not more dependent.

Study for a test

"I'm studying [topic] for a test. Don't give me the answers - ask me one question at a time, wait for my answer, then tell me what I got right and what to review."

Understand something hard

"Explain [idea] to me like a patient teacher. Start simple, then check my understanding with a question before you go deeper."

Write better

"Here's my draft. Don't rewrite it. Point out the three changes that would most improve it, and explain why, so I can make them myself."

Learn a new skill

"I want to learn [skill] in 15 minutes a day for a month. Make me a plan, and each day give me one small exercise to do myself."

Find good information

"What do the best sources say about [question]? List them with dates, tell me where they disagree, and suggest how I can check them myself."

Start a project

"I want to build [idea]. Ask me five questions to sharpen it, then help me plan the first small step I can do this week."

Privacy basics, from our security fellow

  • Never paste passwords, ID or bank numbers, or health details into a chat.
  • Don't share other people's private information - their messages, photos or addresses.
  • Look for the setting that controls chat history and whether your chats are used for training, and choose what you're comfortable with.
  • Before you connect an AI agent to your email, calendar or payment accounts, start with one account and check what it is allowed to do.

More: Small AI, used well · Young builders · The software profession · Ask us which AI to use for something