Does the metaverse have any potential business viability?

Meta's version maybe less so, but the metaverse as a concept certainly has. Meta did have a version of Facebook for Business that in my experience has failed to gain signification traction - and that this version of the Metaverse is the second attempt at getting it right. The objective was to create a collaboration platform like Basecamp or Slack. 

I'm not sure Meta is going to succeed with this second iteration which seems to augment v1 with real-time video as one of the key requirements for a collaborative environment. In that sense I expect Zoom to become more successful than Meta. And Cisco is a dark horse in this space as well.

So to answer your question: the metaverse for business is serving a definite need - especially as work-from-anywhere seems to be here to stay. But I doubt whether Facebook / Meta have the right business-to-business acumen to pull this off. 

(And although you didn't ask, but may wonder, I believe that a gaming-related platform like Twitch or Steam is a more likely candidate to win the metaverse race in the consumer space. Largely because the are adept at thinking in millisecond delay optimisation and lag elimination from the user interface: something that doesn't feature large in the WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook space).

As a medium, the metaverse has business viability. However, it has to fit regular consumption/adaption first and it must have a unique experience. The early adaptors will have to spend/fight a lot of effort before it becomes main stream. There is also still a need to address eye soar/dryness until then.

Personally, I believe augmented reality has a much stronger, more impactful potential benefit that the Metaverse.

It has the niche and definitely has the market. However the size of the market is not defined and it is hard to predict the future due to strong overhype.

Meta verse definitely has a strong business viability. 

- Video calls in case of remote work can be much much more engaging when we bring metaverse into the picture. Along with avatars & gesture engineering (VR), presentation tools, it will be closest to how we can replicate a physical meeting. 
- Along with work engaging in calls for personal interactions will also be much meaningful. There should be a lot of use cases in healthcare, legal, education, gaming, dating. Healthcare I think can emerge as a very strong one with thermal, haptic tools integrated into it. 
- Hosting social events and meets ups will come up as a very strong use case.
- Ecommerce will be another vertical which I think would be disrupted in context of user experience. 

If you see from scientific perspective it our senses and the mind which help us experience anything, if that can solved by metaverse and other ancillary tech it will be a game changer in 15-20 years.

I think it is the same reason that microsoft and meta (google in foray) have been heavily betting on this tech.