Manus
// February 1, 2025
Manus calls itself "the action engine that goes beyond answers to execute tasks, automate workflows, and extend your human reach," and that framing is accurate in use. Their Wide Research stack spins up hundreds of agents with their own VMs to attack a research brief in parallel, then stitches the findings into complete reports instead of lossy summaries. Each sub-agent runs with fresh context, so quality stays consistent even as scope expands.
Why it stays in rotation
- Parallel breakthroughs. Manus Wide Research is architected for "parallel multi-agent orchestration," letting every agent run its own process with full internet access and then merge outputs centrally. That means minutes to synthesize 50 competitors instead of watching a single chatbot degrade by item 10.
- Always-fresh context. Each thread gets its own clean slate, avoiding the context-window saturation that plagues other assistants as you add more sources.
- Dedicated surfaces. Beyond research, Manus ships specialized operators like Mail Manus, Browser Operator, and "Wide Research" modes, plus desktop/mobile apps, so capture and execution are always one tap away.
Plays I run with it
- Market proofs. Feed a structured prompt (segment, pain points, proof requests) into Wide Research, let the swarm pull from public filings/blogs, and export a briefing with citations I can verify.
- Brief capture. Use the mobile app for voice capture during working sessions; Manus structures it into outlines I can hand to collaborators later.
- Agentic delegation. Pair Browser Operator with custom instructions so Manus can click through signup flows or scrape dashboards before I ever open my laptop.
Access notes
- Manus runs as a hosted service with desktop, mobile, and browser clients plus their own "Manus Browser."
- Pricing is credit-based (Wide Research bounties, event tie-ins, etc.), so keep an eye on usage when kicking off massive swarms.
- Start at manus.im for the product overview and feature docs, then dive into Wide Research once you need the multi-agent horsepower.