Manus, a new AI chatbot from China, was launched in March and quickly gained popularity on social media, boasting over 160,000 members on Discord and more than 83,000 followers on X. Developed by The Butterfly Effect, it offers diverse functionalities, including trip planning, business analysis, and programming assistance. Although it claims to outperform competitors like OpenAI’s Deep Research, some users have reported issues with accuracy and infinite loops. Currently in a limited preview stage, Manus requires invitation codes for access. Concerns about data privacy have also emerged, leading to bans in certain regions.
Introducing Manus: The New AI Chatbot from China
Following the launch of DeepSeek, the tech world welcomes Manus, a cutting-edge chatbot that has emerged from China in early March. With high expectations for its capabilities, many users are eager to experience what this AI has to offer. According to its creators, Manus reportedly outshines OpenAI’s Deep Research in performance.
What is Manus?
Manus is a revolutionary artificial intelligence chatbot that was unveiled last week and has quickly gained traction across various social media platforms. Its Discord server boasts over 160,000 members, while its X account has attracted more than 83,000 followers. Developed by The Butterfly Effect, a Chinese tech company, Manus is designed to perform a wide range of functions.
This powerful chatbot can assist with trip planning, business analysis, course writing, insurance policy evaluations, website development, and programming tasks. Impressively, it can even take control of your computer to manage applications, although currently, it only supports web browsers and Visual Studio Code.
When tasked with programming projects or specific research assignments, Manus can outline necessary steps and execute them. Similar to tools like Perplexity or ChatGPT, it reveals the tasks it undertakes—such as conducting online searches, verifying facts, and formatting text—when prompted.
At present, the specifics of Manus’s training and the language model it utilizes remain unclear. Pierre-Carl Langlais, a researcher specializing in information and communication sciences, suggests that Manus might utilize Claude 3.7 from Anthropic, Qwen from Alibaba, or even DeepSeek itself.
Manus vs. ChatGPT and DeepSeek
In a recent YouTube presentation, Yichao Ji, the head of research for Manus, insinuated that the chatbot outperforms existing tools like Operator and OpenAI’s Deep Research. Reports indicate that Manus excelled in the GAIA benchmark test for generative AIs, showcasing superior performance across various difficulty levels. Ji even describes Manus as “the next paradigm of human-machine collaboration.” Victor Mustar, who leads product design at Hugging Face, remarked, “Manus is the most impressive AI tool I have ever tried.”
However, some experts like Pierre-Carl Langlais have encountered issues while using Manus, noting instances of infinite loops during testing. Additionally, users on social media platforms have pointed out that Manus occasionally provides incorrect answers to factual inquiries and fails to cite sources for its information.
How to Access Manus?
Currently, Manus is available in a “preview” stage, meaning access is limited. To manage user influx, the company has implemented an invitation code system: initial users received codes to share with friends, who can then register and further distribute codes. This approach mirrors the initial launch strategy of Bluesky.
The purpose of this controlled rollout is to manage the number of active users, ensuring that the chatbot operates smoothly without delays or system overloads. A spokesperson for Manus explained that “the main goal of the current closed beta is to test various aspects of the system and identify potential issues.” This exclusive invitation strategy also adds to the buzz surrounding Manus.
Will Manus Follow in DeepSeek’s Footsteps?
The excitement surrounding Manus has been amplified by Chinese media, presenting the chatbot as a point of national pride. Some influencers have showcased what they claimed were demonstrations of Manus managing multiple smartphone applications, a portrayal the company later denied as misleading.
It’s important to note that while comparisons to DeepSeek are tempting, Manus is not built on a dedicated language model; instead, it relies on existing models. Additionally, unlike DeepSeek, which is open-source, Manus’s operations remain somewhat opaque.
Concerns about data security and privacy echo those raised by DeepSeek. In fact, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced a ban on both DeepSeek and Manus, citing “serious threats to data privacy and cybersecurity.”