Stocks are freaking out about AI disruption again.
Fears are spiraling that Meta's new Muse AI model could disrupt a variety of industries, reigniting concerns from earlier this year.
The new virtual personal assistant can help with a variety of tasks including booking appointments and trips, placing orders, and sending emails and messages on behalf of users.
Tuesday's market decline echoes the garden-variety selloffs earlier this year, driven by anxiety over AI displacing traditional industries.
Shares of Charles Schwab, Ameriprise Financial, LPL Financial and Raymond James were off 5% or more on the session. In February, they sold off on worries that Altruist's AI model, Hazel, could disrupt the tax-planning business.
Similarly, insurance brokers Marsh McLennan, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., and Brown & Brown were sliding. Travel stocks Booking Holdings and Expedia fell 4% or more.
Muse has surged to the top spot in Apple's app store over the past few days, according to data from Sensor Tower-one spot ahead of OpenAI's ChatGPT app. It's still early days, but Muse users on X are already showcasing the app's potential. They reported they have used Muse as a travel booking agent and an insurance broker.
Shopify and PayPal moved quickly to join with Meta on Muse-Shopify on Monday, PayPal on Tuesday. Customers of both companies can use Muse to shop and check out through their payment processing systems.
After PayPal's announcement, the fintech stock popped more than 2%. Shopify shares were up 6.9% after surging 7.3% on Monday. Meta advanced 1.3%; its Monday gain was more than 11%.
Muse could be adding a third channel of AI monetization, wrote to Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchardi, CIO Americas and Global Head of Equities at UBS Global Wealth Management.
Until now, consumer AI has largely been monetized through subscriptions and advertising. Muse could unlock another source of revenue by executing transactions on a user's behalf.
"Platforms that facilitate these activities may be able to capture a share of transaction value, while task execution could also increase user engagement, retention, and willingness to pay," Hoffmann-Burchardi told clients in a note.
The jury is still out on exactly what Muse can do. But for now, it's once again "Sell First, Ask Questions Later" as AI disruption fears grab hold of the market.