Manus, an “agentic” AI platform that launched in preview final week, is producing extra hype than a Taylor Swift live performance.
The top of product at Hugging Face referred to as Manus “the most impressive AI tool I’ve ever tried.” AI coverage researcher Dean Ball described Manus because the “most sophisticated computer using AI.” The official Discord server for Manus grew to over 138,000 members in just some days, and invite codes for Manus are reportedly promoting for 1000’s of {dollars} on Chinese language reseller app Xianyu.
Nevertheless it’s not clear the hype is justified.
glorious https://t.co/TfeV9QZ1d0
— jack (@jack) March 9, 2025
Manus wasn’t developed completely from scratch. In response to stories on social media, the platform makes use of a mix of present and fine-tuned AI fashions, together with Anthropic’s Claude and Alibaba’s Qwen, to carry out duties comparable to drafting analysis stories and analyzing monetary filings.
But on its web site, Monica — the Chinese language startup behind Manus — provides a number of wild examples of what the platform supposedly can accomplish, from shopping for actual property to programming video video games.
In a viral video on X, Yichao “Peak” Ji, a analysis lead for Manus, implied that the platform was superior to agentic instruments comparable to OpenAI’s deep analysis and Operator. Manus outperforms deep analysis on a preferred benchmark for normal AI assistants referred to as GAIA, Ji claimed, which probes an AI’s means to hold out work by shopping the net, utilizing software program, and extra.
“[Manus] isn’t just another chatbot or workflow,” Ji stated within the video. “It’s a completely autonomous agent that bridges the gap between conception and execution […] We see it as the next paradigm of human-machine collaboration.”
However some early customers say that Manus is not any panacea.
Alexander Doria, the co-founder of AI startup Pleias, stated in a publish on X that he encountered error messages and infinite loops whereas testing Manus. Different X customers identified that Manus makes errors on factual questions and doesn’t persistently cite its work — and typically misses data that’s simply discovered on-line.
Deep Analysis completed in beneath quarter-hour. Sadly, Manus AI failed after 50 minutes at step 18/20! 😑 It was performing fairly well-I used to be watching Manus’ output & it appeared glorious. Nevertheless, working the identical immediate a second time is a bit irritating because it takes too lengthy! https://t.co/bGtmOI65CP
— Derya Unutmaz, MD (@DeryaTR_) March 8, 2025
My very own expertise with Manus hasn’t been extremely constructive.
I requested the platform to deal with what appeared to me like a reasonably easy request: order a fried hen sandwich from a top-rated quick meals joint in my supply vary. After about ten minutes, Manus crashed. On the second try, it discovered a menu merchandise that met my standards, however Manus couldn’t full the ordering course of — or present a checkout hyperlink, even.
Manus equally whiffed after I requested it to e-book a flight from NYC to Japan. Given directions that I believed didn’t go away a lot room for ambiguity (e.g. “look for a business-class flight, prioritizing price and flexible dates”), the most effective Manus might do was serve up hyperlinks to fares throughout a number of airline web sites and airfare serps like Kayak, a few of which have been damaged.
Hoping the following few duties could be the allure, I instructed Manus to order a desk for one at a restaurant inside strolling distance. It failed after a couple of minutes. Then I requested the platform to construct a Naruto-inspired preventing recreation. It errored out half an hour in, which is after I determined to throw within the towel.
Sincere opinion after making an attempt Manus AI for the final 3 days, right here’s the great and the dangerous.
Good:
– The analysis it does on the web and the stories it generates are unbelievable.
– Its means to run scripts behind the scenes to execute duties is spectacular.
– The plans it…— AshutoshShrivastava (@ai_for_success) March 9, 2025
We’ve reached out to Monica for remark and can replace this publish if we hear again.
So if Manusis is falling in need of its technical guarantees, why did it blow up? A couple of elements contributed, such because the exclusivity created by a shortage of invitations.
Chinese language media was fast to tout Manus as an AI breakthrough; publication QQ Information referred to as it “the pride of domestic products.” In the meantime, AI influencers on social media unfold misinformation about Manus’ capabilities. A widely-shared video confirmed a desktop program, ostensibly Manus, taking motion throughout a number of smartphone apps. Ji confirmed that the video wasn’t, in actual fact, a demo of Manus.
Different influential AI accounts on X sought to attract comparisons between Manus and Chinese language AI firm DeepSeek — comparisons not essentially rooted in actual fact. Monica didn’t develop in-house fashions, not like DeepSeek. And whereas DeepSeek made a lot of its applied sciences brazenly accessible, Monica hasn’t — at the least not fairly but.
To be truthful to Monica, Manus is in early entry. The corporate claims it’s working to scale computing capability and repair points as they’re reported. However because the platform at present exists, Manus seems to be a case of hype working forward of technological innovation.
