Muirhead's team beat Sweden 6-4 on Sunday to take bronze in Beijing, with Canada beating Russia to win gold.
It was their second major bronze of the season, after also finishing third at the European Championships.
"As a team I know we are capable of a lot more but we have made a lot of changes this year," Muirhead said.
"We have got a new team coach, a new team dynamics coach, we have made a change with one of our players, so we didn't expect too much. In any sport you are going to go down slightly when you make those changes before you are going to rise to the top.
"Overall we are disappointed we are not at the top of the podium but I am pleased with the bronze medal.
"It was a tough week and I think bronze is fair to be honest. Canada were leaps and bounds ahead of the rest, and Russia also, so I think we would be punching above our weight if we wanted more than we got.
"We played really hard to get our bronze, the girls were fantastic and we really came together. We probably had the best seven ends we have played all season to get that bronze medal, so we are really pleased."
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Team Muirhead parted company at the end of last season with former coach Dave Hay - under whom they won the World Championships in 2013 and Olympic bronze in 2014.
They also replaced Sarah Reid with Lauren Gray as lead, and brought in Canadian Glenn Howard, a four-time world champion, as a tactical coach.
Along with third Anna Sloan and second Vicki Adams, Muirhead and Gray will turn their attention to preparing for next year's Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, which take place from 9-25 February.
"The Olympics are not far away now," Muirhead told BBC Scotland. "We have got a spot there because of us getting a medal at the European Championships and getting a medal here at the Worlds. So we are pleased to be the team that is going to represent Great Britain at the Games.
"Overall we have learned a lot this week. It has been tough but I think we have deserved what we have got."
Scotland's women curlers are "capable of a lot more" as they seek to turn World Championship bronze into Winter Olympics gold, says skip Eve Muirhead.