(Credit: Manus)
Meta’s recently acquired AI startup Manus has launched a desktop app for Mac and Windows. It features an agentic tool called My Computer that allows you to use text prompts to execute tasks across files, tools, and apps on your PC.
When you launch the app after installation, you are greeted with an interface familiarized by AI chatbots. A prompt box takes center stage, with options to add files and folders below it.
One of Manus’ key abilities is sorting files and folders. In a demo, the company shows how a florist can add a folder containing thousands of unsorted photos and ask the AI to sort them into subfolders, such as bouquets, flower decorations, bridal flowers, and physical flowers.
(Credit: Manus)Upon receiving the prompt and attachment, Manus scans the files, understands their contents, and arranges them into subfolders in the order they appear. This is made possible by executing command line instructions (CLI) in your PC’s terminal, the company says.
Other use cases include converting the file formats in a folder and renaming them based on their contents. “These file management tasks may seem simple, but they are tedious and repetitive. Automating them makes a real difference,” the company says.
(Credit: Manus)Another interesting use case involves remote access to your PC and integration with Google apps. Once you integrate Google apps with Manus, you can ask the AI agent to take actions on those apps when you are away. For example, you can ask Manus to fetch a file from your desktop and email it to your client.
Each time you add a folder for automation, Manus asks for permission. You can choose Allow and Always Allow to grant access, or Cancel to deny access.
In addition to simple task executions, Manus can also build apps and “use your local GPU to train a machine learning model or run a large language model for inference.”
The AI startup was acquired by Meta in December, and it had only offered cloud-based services until now. The company says it was necessary to launch a desktop app to meet users where they do their most important work. With the free plan, you get limited access. To get more out of the app, you’ll have to upgrade to one of its three plans, starting at $20 a month ($17 if billed annually).
Manus’s desktop app arrives weeks after another AI agent, OpenClaw, grabbed headlines with its capabilities. While helpful, experts have warned users against such AI agents as they may pose privacy and security risks.
As CNBC reports, Manus was founded in China before relocating its headquarters to Singapore, and Chinese officials are currently reviewing the legality of its deal with Meta.