Manus probably isn’t China’s second ‘DeepSeek moment’

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 “probably the most spectacular AI device I’ve ever tried.” AI coverage researcher Dean Ball described Manus because the “most refined laptop utilizing AI.” The official Discord server for Manus grew to over 138,000 members in only a few days, and invite codes for Manus are reportedly promoting for 1000’s of {dollars} on Chinese language reseller app Xianyu.

However it’s not clear the hype is justified.

wonderful https://t.co/TfeV9QZ1d0

— jack (@jack) March 9, 2025

Manus wasn’t developed fully from scratch. In keeping with studies on social media, the platform makes use of a mixture of current and fine-tuned AI fashions, together with Anthropic’s Claude and Alibaba’s Qwen, to carry out duties similar to drafting analysis studies 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 similar to OpenAI’s deep analysis and Operator. Manus outperforms deep analysis on a preferred benchmark for common AI assistants referred to as GAIA, Ji claimed, which probes an AI’s means to hold out work by shopping the online, utilizing software program, and extra.

“[Manus] isn’t simply one other chatbot or workflow,” Ji stated within the video. “It’s a totally autonomous agent that bridges the hole between conception and execution […] We see it as the following paradigm of human-machine collaboration.”

However some early customers say that Manus isn’t any panacea.

Alexander Doria, the co-founder of AI startup Pleias, stated in a put up on X that he encountered error messages and countless loops whereas testing Manus. Different X customers identified that Manus makes errors on factual questions and doesn’t constantly cite its work — and sometimes misses data that’s simply discovered on-line.

Deep Analysis completed in underneath 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 wonderful. Nevertheless, operating 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 fairly simple 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 once I requested it to guide a flight from NYC to Japan. Given directions that I believed didn’t depart a lot room for ambiguity (e.g. “search for a business-class flight, prioritizing value and versatile dates”), one of the best Manus might do was serve up hyperlinks to fares throughout a number of airline web sites and airfare search engines like google like Kayak, a few of which had been damaged.

Hoping the following few duties could be the allure, I advised 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 sport. It errored out half an hour in, which is once I determined to throw within the towel.

Trustworthy opinion after making an attempt Manus AI for the final 3 days, right here’s the nice and the unhealthy.

Good:
– The analysis it does on the web and the studies 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 put up if we hear again.

So if Manusis is falling in need of its technical guarantees, why did it blow up? A couple of components 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 delight of home merchandise.” 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 reality, 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 reality. Monica didn’t develop in-house fashions, in contrast to DeepSeek. And whereas DeepSeek made lots of its applied sciences brazenly out there, Monica hasn’t — no less than not fairly but.

To be honest 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 operating forward of technological innovation.