Caution Reported AI & LLM Bots

Meta Muse (muse-)

Q: What user agent does Meta Muse use?

Cloudflare's verified-bot registry lists the pattern muse- for Muse. Meta's own crawler page does not name it yet, so treat the string as reported, not documented.

Q: Can I block Muse with robots.txt?

You can write User-agent: muse-, but Meta does not say Muse reads robots.txt. Use bot-management or firewall rules for anything you need enforced.

Q: How do I find Muse in my logs?

Search for the token: grep -i "muse-" access.log, or paste your log into the free AI agent log checker.

Operated by Meta

Quick Facts

User-Agent:: muse-
Category:: AI & LLM Bots
Operator:: Meta
Safety:: Use Caution
Blocking Impact:: Low - No SEO ranking impact
SEO Impact Score:: 2/10
Official docs:: None published by Meta
Named by:: Cloudflare Radar verified bots

Reported, not operator documented

Meta has not published a crawler page that names muse-. It is listed here because a credible public source does: Cloudflare Radar verified bots. Cloudflare's verified-bot registry lists Muse (Meta) as an AI assistant with the user-agent pattern muse-. Meta's web crawlers page (read 2026-10-11) does not name it.

What that means for you: the robots.txt rule on this page is the best available spelling, and a well-behaved crawler using this string will honour it, but there is no vendor statement of purpose, crawl rate or robots.txt compliance to rely on. Treat a matching request in your logs as a detection clue, not proof of who sent it, and combine the rule with a firewall rule if the traffic matters to you. If the operator publishes documentation, this profile moves to Official docs.

What is Meta Muse (muse-)?

Muse is Meta's personal AI agent, launched on 8 September 2026. Each user gets an agent with its own cloud computer and browser that books, buys and resolves support issues on the user's behalf. Cloudflare's verified-bot registry lists its web client as an AI assistant with the user-agent pattern <code>muse-</code>.

Meta describes Muse as acting "as an extension of the person who sent the request", applying a "one honest person" test and asking the user before signing in, booking or buying. Meta's web crawlers page does not name the muse- token, so this profile carries the Reported badge. Meta and Sierra are developing an open Personal Agent Protocol with Shopify, Stripe, Walmart and others so businesses can guide agents to preferred flows. Amazon blocked Muse on 21 September 2026, saying it did not identify itself while browsing.

What happens if you block Meta Muse?

✅ No SEO Impact - Muse has no role in search rankings. Blocking it turns away the customer behind the agent: someone who asked Muse to book or buy from you.

Allow it on browse and product pages if agent-led sales are welcome. Make sure anti-bot challenges on checkout do not silently break agent sessions you want to keep.

Want to see whether Meta Muse (muse-) actually visits you? Read how do I monitor AI bot traffic to my website?

How to control Meta Muse on your site

<code>User-agent: muse-</code> is accepted by robots.txt syntax, but no operator documents that this agent reads robots.txt. Personal agents act for one signed-in person, so treat a robots.txt rule as a statement of intent and use your CDN or firewall (bot rules, Web Bot Auth verification, rate limits) to enforce it.

Block completely (robots.txt)

User-agent: muse-
Disallow: /

Allow all (robots.txt)

User-agent: muse-
Allow: /

Block private only (robots.txt)

User-agent: muse-
Disallow: /private/
Disallow: /api/
Disallow: /admin/
Allow: /

Nginx server block

# Nginx: Hard-block Meta Muse (personal agent)
if ($http_user_agent ~* "muse-") {
    return 403 "Bot blocked";
}

Apache .htaccess

# Apache: Hard-block Meta Muse (personal agent)
SetEnvIfNoCase User-Agent "muse-" bad_bot
Order Allow,Deny
Allow from all
Deny from env=bad_bot

Meta robots tag

X-Robots-Tag header

X-Robots-Tag: noindex, nofollow

Is Meta Muse safe to allow?

Muse is rated Caution: it takes real actions such as sign-ins and purchases, and Meta has not documented robots.txt behaviour or published IP ranges for it. Cloudflare lists it as a verified bot, so Cloudflare-protected sites can allow or block it by bot identity rather than by user-agent string.

Rely on Cloudflare's verified-bot detection (or your bot manager's Muse entry) rather than the string. Meta publishes no IP ranges or reverse-DNS pattern for Muse, so a bare muse- user-agent cannot be verified on its own.

What does Meta Muse do?

Understanding Meta Muse (personal agent)'s purpose helps you decide whether to allow or block it.

Browses, compares and books for one signed-in user
Fills forms and completes purchases with the user's approval
Resolves support questions on a business's site
Uses partner connectors where a business offers one
robots.txt behaviour not documented by Meta

Frequently Asked Questions

What user agent does Meta Muse use?

Cloudflare's verified-bot registry lists the pattern muse- for Muse. Meta's own crawler page does not name it yet, so treat the string as reported, not documented.

Is Muse the same as Meta-ExternalAgent?

No. Meta-ExternalAgent is Meta's documented crawler for AI training and indexing. Muse is a personal agent that visits a page because one person asked it to do something there.

Can I block Muse with robots.txt?

You can write User-agent: muse-, but Meta does not say Muse reads robots.txt. Use bot-management or firewall rules for anything you need enforced.

Why did Amazon block Muse?

Amazon said on 21 September 2026 that Muse was an unauthorized agent that did not identify itself while browsing. Meta disputed parts of that account. Many other retailers, including Walmart and Shopify stores, work with Muse.

How do I find Muse in my logs?

Search for the token: grep -i "muse-" access.log, or paste your log into the free AI agent log checker.