Analyst Sells Airbnb Stock, Buys Meta After Testing Muse AI

In late September, independent stock analyst Mostly Borrowed Ideas (MBI) revealed he had sold all his Airbnb shares and increased his Meta Platforms holdings after testing Meta's new AI agent, Muse. MBI shared his findings on a financial podcast, stating that his experience with Muse led to this significant portfolio shift.

MBI found that Muse, after about 10 days of testing, could bypass platforms like Airbnb to complete bookings. The AI agent was observed searching Airbnb, inputting user details, sifting through results, and making recommendations. In one instance, Muse identified a farmhouse rental and found that booking directly with the host was approximately 60% cheaper than through Airbnb, with payment methods already linked for user confirmation.

The analyst introduced the concept of "Proactive Commerce," suggesting that AI agents could move beyond answering questions to actively suggesting cheaper or more suitable alternatives, and even executing transactions. This capability, MBI believes, could significantly reduce decision-making friction for consumers and fundamentally alter the business models of online travel agencies, food delivery platforms, and e-commerce sites by challenging their control over user traffic and transaction matching.

While acknowledging that Muse is currently slow and in its early stages—taking 14 minutes to compare just five hotels—MBI views it as a blueprint for the future. He argues that AI is evolving from simple chatbots into personal agents capable of browsing, comparing, recommending, and transacting. Furthermore, MBI posits that Muse might not need direct in-app advertising; instead, its user interaction and browsing data could indirectly enhance Meta's advertising systems, improving ad targeting and revenue for platforms like Facebook and Instagram.