Analysis: Meta's AI edge is its ad machine, not its models
Meta's Muse agent, released in October 2026, reached 73% early user retention — which the article says is close to double ChatGPT's figure at a comparable stage — alongside the flagship Muse Wonder and Muse Wonder Full models. But an analysis republished by 36Kr argues Meta's real advantage is how its mature ad business funds and absorbs AI: Q2 2026 ad revenue was $59.363 billion, 97.6% of total revenue and up 27% year over year, while 2026 capital spending is projected at $115–135 billion. The piece notes that Muse Image has been folded into the Advantage+ ad platform, that 9 million small businesses had used at least one AI ad-creation tool as of July 2026, and that Advantage+ end-to-end campaigns passed $75 billion in annualized revenue; it compares this with Tencent (marketing services revenue up 20% to 38.2 billion yuan, with Yuanbao embedded in WeChat) and ByteDance (Doubao linked to Douyin e-commerce, Seedance 2.5 in TikTok Symphony). It cites a September 2026 Morgan Stanley survey in which 72% of advertisers reported unchanged total budgets, suggesting AI is mainly reshuffling existing spend before 2030.
It suggests monetization channels and cash flow may matter as much as model quality in determining who can sustain long-term AI spending.