Manus AI - The Calm Before the Hypestorm … (vs Deep Research + Grok 3)

Summary

Manus AI has generated massive hype with its claim to be a glimpse into AGI, combining features like interactive tasks and deep research. Its marketing tactics, including invite-only access and scarcity, have fueled a buzz, attracting millions to its waitlist. However, despite its capabilities, Manus AI falls short in accuracy and performance consistency compared to other AI tools like OpenAI's deep research, Gemini, and Grock 3. While it excels at integrating multiple tools, its high cost per task and performance limitations raise questions about its long-term viability and true potential.

Takeaways

• 😀 Manus AI has quickly gained massive attention with millions on its waitlist, generating significant buzz in the AI space.
• 😀 The hype campaign around Manus AI exemplifies how AI products are marketed, including creating a sense of exclusivity and scarcity with waitlists and invite codes.
• 😀 Manus AI combines multiple AI tools, similar to OpenAI's operator and DeepMind's research, into a single system to automate tasks and research.
• 😀 Despite the impressive marketing, Manus AI is a compilation of existing models like Claude 3.7, rather than an original AI creation.
• 😀 The pricing for Manus AI is reportedly expensive, with a per-task cost estimated at $2, leading to usage limits and high costs for frequent users.
• 😀 Manus AI performs well but is not at the state-of-the-art level, often providing solid but not always reliable results in tasks like research and image processing.
• 😀 The AI’s performance is inconsistent, with examples showing that it sometimes struggles to find accurate information, such as missing founders of companies.
• 😀 While Manus AI offers a wide range of capabilities, including web searches and task automation, its UI can be cumbersome and less polished compared to its competitors.
• 😀 The company's marketing strategy has been incredibly successful, demonstrating the power of hype in generating interest, with 2 million sign-ups to the waitlist.
• 😀 Despite its strengths, Manus AI’s limitations, including its reliance on third-party models and high costs, make it unlikely to replace cheaper, more accessible AI tools in the near future.

Q & A

What is Manus AI and what does it do?

Manus AI is a tool that combines several AI models, including OpenAI's operator and deep research systems, allowing users to perform tasks such as web searches, booking services, and creating interactive content. It integrates multiple AI capabilities into one agent, making it versatile but not necessarily state-of-the-art in each individual area.

What is the key feature of Manus AI that generates hype?

The key feature driving hype around Manus AI is its marketing campaign, which promotes it as a 'glimpse into AGI'—a potential breakthrough towards artificial general intelligence. The hype is fueled by scarcity tactics such as invite codes and competition prizes, generating widespread excitement despite the actual performance not always meeting expectations.

How does Manus AI compare to other AI tools like OpenAI's operator and Gemini's deep research?

Manus AI ties together functionalities similar to OpenAI's operator and Gemini's deep research. However, Manus AI is slower, less reliable in certain tasks, and more expensive due to its reliance on high-cost models. While it performs multiple tasks, it does not excel in any one area, offering a compromise of convenience over peak performance.

What does the marketing strategy behind Manus AI tell us about the AI industry?

The marketing strategy behind Manus AI demonstrates how hype can drive interest, even when the product itself isn't perfect. It reveals that in the AI industry, creating scarcity and promoting products as groundbreaking can overshadow flaws in performance, encouraging massive adoption despite the cost or reliability concerns.

Why is the $2 per task cost for Manus AI a concern?

The $2 per task cost for Manus AI is concerning because it can quickly add up for users who rely on the service regularly. For example, performing just five tasks a day could cost $300 a month. This makes Manus AI a more expensive option compared to other tools, limiting its widespread accessibility.

How does Manus AI handle multimodal tasks, such as analyzing images and conducting research?

Manus AI is multimodal, allowing users to upload images and receive results based on those images. For instance, it can identify companies in an image and then perform deep research to gather relevant data. However, the performance is not always flawless, and it sometimes struggles with accuracy or task complexity compared to competitors.

What issues did the author encounter when testing Manus AI's accuracy?

During testing, Manus AI showed notable accuracy issues. For example, it failed to identify the founders of some companies, such as Curated AI and Cian, which were easily found by other models like OpenAI’s deep research. These inconsistencies highlight the limitations of Manus AI's research capabilities.

What does the performance of Manus AI reveal about AI models in 2025?

The performance of Manus AI reflects the ongoing trends in AI development in 2025. Models are becoming more expensive, their performance is often patchy, and they can have impressive moments but may still fall short in terms of reliability and accuracy. These trends show that AI tools are evolving but still face significant challenges.

How does Manus AI’s benchmark performance compare to its competitors?

Manus AI's benchmark performance, specifically the Guia benchmark, is a key selling point in its marketing. However, the performance data presented by Manus AI often lacks transparency or is inconsistent. For instance, it sometimes fails to quote its own benchmark results accurately, leading to questions about the reliability of the data provided.

Why is the hype surrounding Manus AI problematic?

The hype surrounding Manus AI is problematic because it can mislead users into believing the product is more revolutionary than it truly is. While Manus AI combines various AI capabilities, it often falls short in terms of accuracy, speed, and reliability, and the heavy marketing can overshadow these flaws, creating unrealistic expectations among users.