I’ll be honest—AI tools aren’t new to me. I’ve explored and used a bunch of them over the last year, from ChatGPT and Gemini to Claude and Copilot. So, when I first heard about Manus AI, I didn’t expect much. But after digging into it, I can say it genuinely surprised me.

Manus AI isn’t just another AI assistant—it operates independently. Fully. It doesn’t wait around for prompts or hand-holding. It thinks, acts, and adapts on its own. That’s a pretty big leap from anything I’ve used before.

What Got Me Hooked

Manus is developed by a Chinese company called Monica, and the name “Manus” actually comes from Latin—it means “hand.” Fitting, because it works like an extra hand (or brain) doing stuff in the background while you focus elsewhere.

Here’s what stood out to me:

Autonomous operations: You give it a task, and it just... does it. Even if you shut the laptop or go offline. It continues in the cloud and lets you know when it's done.
It adapts to you: This isn’t just generative AI. It understands your working style over time and becomes more “you.”
It works across industries: Finance, HR, real estate—you name it. This isn’t niche AI, it’s wide-angle.

It’s Not Public Yet (But People Are Already Paying)

Right now, Manus AI is in closed beta, and you need an invite to try it. That exclusivity? Yeah, it’s causing people to sell invites online—some for $5 and others going all the way up to $1,500 (seriously). That kind of hype usually means something big is brewing.

Early users are already sharing screenshots and walkthroughs. From what I’ve seen, it delivers on what it claims—though it’s not without flaws. Some tasks fail, some logic needs tuning. But overall, it’s operating on a different level.

Backed by Alibaba’s Qwen Team

One of the things that makes me take this seriously is the recent partnership between Manus AI and Alibaba’s Qwenteam. Qwen’s been making waves in the open-source AI world, and this collab means Manus gets access to some top-tier infrastructure and cloud intelligence.

This could speed up development massively—and make it scalable fast.

Could This Be China’s DeepSeek Moment?

Some people are saying it reminds them of DeepSeek’s rise last year in China. That same energy and curiosity are back—only this time with more ambition. Manus isn’t just trying to compete with OpenAI or Meta. It’s trying to build something new—a truly autonomous agent that doesn’t just talk but acts on its own.

And honestly, that feels like the next big step in AI evolution.

So What’s the Catch?

Of course, no tool is perfect. There are bugs. Some people say certain prompts still misfire. But this isn’t a polished release—it’s beta. And for something that’s still testing waters, it’s already ahead of the curve.

What I Think….

For someone who’s seen a lot of AI tools come and go, Manus AI feels different. It’s not just talking about autonomy—it’s already moving in that direction.

If this pace keeps up, we might be looking at the first real example of what autonomous AI should look like—not just a chatbot, but a thinking, adapting agent that works with you, not just for you.

Let’s see where it goes.

Image Credit: microstock.in

Why I Think Manus AI Might Be the First Truly Autonomous AI Tool