My guest today is Hayden Field, The Verge’s senior AI reporter, and we're discussing the new wave of consumer friendly AI agents. AI enthusiasts have been using agents for a minute now, but the launch of Meta’s Muse, OpenAI’s Dots, and XAI’s Grok Bot has brought easy to use agents to millions.  Muse, notably, is free, while Dots is not, and you’ll hear Hayden and me get into why Meta, which still doesn't have a frontier model of its own, might have a meaningful edge here because it's much better at making and distributing consumer products. And wrapped up in this heated agent race are a lot of really big ideas — about AI capability, privacy, and trust.  Links:  OpenAI’s new agent is a shot at Meta — but can it compete with free? | The Verge The AI Tamagotchis are coming | The Verge Muse escapes containment | 404 Media Meta’s Muse AI sent a YouTuber’s address to a stranger | The Verge It’s sinister that Meta’s Muse AI mascot is so cute | The Verge Muse sure looks a lot like OpenClaw | The Verge Decoder is a Signal Awards finalist in the Business category! You can vote to help us win here.  Subscribe to The Verge to access the ad-free version of Decoder! Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Decoder’s producers are Greg Ott, Kate Cox, and Nick Statt. This episode was edited by Ursa Wright. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane. The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.