Manus 2.0 Released: A Look Back at 63 Major Updates Along the Way

十字路口Crossing·September 28, 2026·0·0

As long as you keep building, good things will happen.

Keep building, and good things happen.

🥷 Editor: Crossing

🧑‍🎨 Design: NCon

Today, Manus 2.0 officially launched, alongside Cue, a personal-life assistant.

Manus 2.0 adopts the self-developed Cascade framework, loading specialized capabilities on demand to significantly reduce token consumption.

New features include event-triggered automation and cloud computers available as standalone purchases.

The desktop client has been upgraded to Manus Studio, a shared workspace for humans and AI.

Video editing is now built in. Users can directly adjust timelines, assets, and code, then hand it back to AI to continue.

The video editor also offers Alchemy mode. Starting from a single idea, Manus serves as creative director, calling on video generation and code generation capabilities.

The game development environment can simultaneously invoke video, image, and programming models. When finished, users can publish games as websites, share links for anyone to play, or invite friends to join.

Users can also use their phones to let Manus operate their computers within authorized scopes. After connecting and granting permission, Manus runs in a separate, visible workspace on the computer, accessing only approved files, browsers, and applications.

Meanwhile, Manus has introduced Cue, a standalone app for personal life. Each agent has its own email address, phone number, wallet, and computer — it can communicate, take calls, make payments within budget, and collaborate with other agents.

The company is also building out its domestic product team, advancing partnerships with domestic model providers and ecosystem partners, and re-entering the China market.

🚥

Over the past year and a half, Manus's corporate fate has twisted and turned — from launch to Meta acquisition, from the deal being blocked to resuming independent operations.

But alongside that noisy news cycle, there's another timeline that barely paused: product updates.

So we asked Manus to review its own journey, using 70 official blog posts to compile 63 major feature releases since launch.

March 2025

01

March 5, 2025 | Manus makes its public debut

The team called it "the world's first general AI agent." Users describe a goal, and it breaks down steps, calling on browsers, code, and file tools to complete research, analysis, and production — delivering reports and other outputs, with the ability to add requests mid-stream.

Manus launch video: co-founder and chief scientist introducing the product.

02

March 28–31, 2025 | First paid subscriptions, mobile app, and model upgrade

Task execution uses Claude 3.7 Sonnet; subscribers get higher usage quotas. The mobile app supports submitting requests and checking progress, letting users delegate work while out or commuting without needing to return to their computers.

April–June 2025

03

May 11–12, 2025 | Waitlist removed, free usage added

Users can try research, information organization, and content creation with a daily quota, observing execution and checking deliverables before paying. Test with real tasks first, then decide whether it fits long-term use and how much quota to buy.

04

May 15, 2025 | Image generation

Users can now gather materials, organize copy, and produce supporting visuals around a single goal. Event promotions, product showcases, and social content can be completed in one task, eliminating the need to re-explain design requirements to another tool.

Manus image generation launch screen

05

May 20, 2025 | Manus Team

Members submit tasks individually while drawing from shared team quotas — suited for research, operations, or content teams making unified purchases. Individual needs execute separately, with costs consolidated under one plan, making it easier to arrange sustained multi-person use and experiment with different workflows.

Manus Team

06

May 27, 2025 | Direct text editing for generated websites

Small changes to headlines, button copy, and product descriptions no longer require regenerating through another conversation round. Pages that are basically ready can enter word-by-word proofing, reducing wait times for tweaking a few characters and checking whether other content was affected.

Direct text editing for generated websites

07

May 29, 2025 | Manus Slides

Users provide a research topic, presentation objective, or existing materials to receive a presentation draft. Information organization, content arrangement, and page production happen in one task, eliminating the work of copying text from chat results, manually paginating, and formatting slide by slide.

Manus Slides: generating presentations from topics

08

June 3, 2025 | Video generation

Users can connect script ideation, asset preparation, and final production around the same theme. Text, images, and motion content created for event promotion can continue building on established context, eliminating the need to re-explain creative requirements every time the output format changes.

Video generation

09

June 9, 2025 | OneDrive Integration

Reports, spreadsheets, and project files from cloud storage can be imported directly into tasks, and results can be exported back to their original locations. Research and production can thus proceed around existing files, removing the steps of downloading individually, re-uploading, and moving finished work afterward.

OneDrive Integration

June 10, 2025 | Veo 3 Integration

Theme research, script ideation, and video production can be linked within a single task, with previously defined content requirements feeding directly into generation. Presentations or promotional work needing dynamic assets thus gain another model option, while sparing users from restating context to a separate tool.

Veo 3 Integration

June 11, 2025 | Free Chat Mode

Simple consultations, idea discussions, and requirement clarification can happen through chat first; users switch to Agent execution once goals are clear. The same entry point thus handles both lightweight conversation and research production, so users don't need to submit every question as a full task from the start.

Free Chat Mode

June 12, 2025 | Manus Playbook

Scenario templates provide task examples and reusable entry points. Users start from a case close to their own work, adjusting the theme, materials, and delivery requirements before executing. Ready-made guidance helps first-time users get started, reducing the guesswork of facing a blank input field.

Manus Playbook

June 13, 2025 | Scheduled Tasks (Beta)

Tasks can be set to launch at specified times or on fixed intervals, suited for daily briefings, weekly research reports, and other recurring work. Once a workflow proves useful, users no longer need to initiate it manually each time — they simply review results and adjust subsequent requirements as needed.

Scheduled Tasks: Let Manus execute work on a plan

June 20, 2025 | Cloud Browser Login State Persistence

After user authorization, subsequent tasks can continue accessing pages that require accounts. When repeatedly using the same research platform or business site, this eliminates re-logging and environment preparation, allowing multi-task research to build on existing access conditions.

Cloud Browser Login State Persistence

June 27, 2025 | Agent Preference

Speed and Quality modes let users choose faster completion or more thorough processing per task. Simple lookups and complex research can each adopt appropriate settings, with users deciding based on time constraints and intended use.

Agent Preference

July–September 2025

July 2, 2025 | Audio / Text-to-Speech

Prepared introductions, narrations, and scripts can continue into audio production for content previews or subsequent creation. Text preparation and voice production build on the same context, removing the steps of copying scripts to another tool, re-explaining requirements, and organizing output files.

Audio / Text-to-Speech

July 8, 2025 | Slides Theme and Parameter Controls

New options for page count and color scheme let users specify presentation scale and visual requirements before generation. When targeting different audiences, locking in format before building slides helps first drafts better serve their purpose, reducing heavy post-hoc restructuring and restyling.

Slides Theme and Parameter Controls

July 19, 2025 | Data Visualization Update

Users can pose questions about comparison, trends, or distribution around a dataset, connecting the analytical process with chart presentation. For research reports, business updates, and presentations, this reduces the work of separately selecting charts and organizing visual content after analysis is complete.

Data Visualization Update

July 31, 2025 | Wide Research

Large sets of research subjects can be distributed across multiple sub-agents for parallel processing, then consolidated. Independent contexts prevent material from piling up in a single session, making it suitable for simultaneously researching a batch of companies, schools, or tools and producing results designed for lateral comparison.

Wide Research: Multiple research tasks running in parallel

September 3, 2025 | Mail Manus

Each user receives a dedicated email address: xxxxxx@manus.bot[1]. Forwarding an email to this address brings in the body and context to initiate a task, eliminating the steps of copying content and switching pages to restate requirements.

Mail Manus

September 8, 2025 | Webpage Templates

Users first select a page format close to their goal, then add their own content and requirements — suited for event pages, product introductions, and similar needs. Ready-made structures provide a visual starting point for deciding what to keep, replace, or modify, reducing layout back-and-forth.

Webpage Templates

September 12, 2025 | Manus Collaboration

Multiple people can add context, review progress, and discuss results in a shared task space. Research and production work involving several collaborators can advance around the same task, cutting down on the back-and-forth of one person relaying requirements and separately passing along results.

Manus Collaboration

October — December 2025

October 16, 2025 | Manus 1.5 / 1.5 Lite

The execution engine now offers full capabilities alongside a more cost-efficient option. Site building covers backends, databases, user login, embedded AI, and deployment — users can create apps with data storage through conversation and publish directly, with less environment configuration.

Manus 1.5 Release

October 31, 2025 | Manus for Slack

@manus in a thread to kick off research, organization, or production tasks using the current discussion and attachments. Issues already clarified in conversation become execution context directly; team members can follow up around the original thread, reducing the need to copy records and re-explain requirements.

Manus for Slack

November 11, 2025 | Stripe Payment Integration

Automatically sets up a test sandbox, configures products and purchase flows, then lets the user claim it live after verification. Sites needing payments or subscriptions can validate commercial functionality during building, reducing the work of handling payment integration separately and reconfiguring environments.

Stripe Payment Integration

November 18, 2025 | Browser Operator

When authorized, can operate the local browser, inheriting existing login states and local network. Accessing subscription research platforms, CRMs, and similar services requires no re-login or reconfiguration in the cloud; cloud browsers also remain available for different access needs.

Browser Operator

December 1, 2025 | Projects

Unified instructions, knowledge files, and related tasks can be saved for reuse in future sessions. Brand voice, research templates, and product materials don't need to be re-uploaded or re-explained; recurring work like weekly reports can follow established requirements, giving teams consistent context.

Projects: Manage Tasks and Materials Within One Project

December 4, 2025 | Slides Integrated with Nano Banana Pro

Adds full-page image-based slide generation, with particular improvement to the combination of visuals, text, and layout. Content and design are produced together, suited for presentations emphasizing visual expression — giving users another production option when preparing reports, with less page-by-page visual assembly.

Slides Integrated with Nano Banana Pro

December 8, 2025 | Domain Purchase and Binding Integration

HTTPS configuration is now included in the site builder; steps needed to go live are concentrated in the same environment after pages are complete. Users can more easily deliver their work as accessible websites, with less switching between builder tools and secure connection setup.

Domain Purchase and Binding Integration

December 8, 2025 | Google Drive Connector

Can search, read, organize, and write to cloud drive contents — existing materials don't need to be downloaded and uploaded individually. After research or production is complete, results can be saved back to the team's original document environment for easier later retrieval, sharing, and continued editing, reducing file shuffling.

Google Drive Connector

December 10, 2025 | Built-in SEO

Improves conditions for search engines to read and index pages through prerendered content. Public content like product introductions and service pages becomes more discoverable, with less post-publish configuration needed — though search rankings still depend on content quality and other factors.

Built-in SEO

December 15, 2025 | Manus 1.6 / 1.6 Max

Planning, execution, and tool use for complex tasks are improved, with sub-agents upgraded in parallel. New additions include mobile app development and Design View image editing; users can also handle spreadsheet analysis, financial modeling, and more sophisticated site-building tasks.

Manus 1.6 Release

December 18, 2025 | Image-based Slides Local Editing

Text, elements, and multiple regions can all be modified at specified positions, continuing refinement from a satisfactory base. Users only need to point out details requiring adjustment, reducing the frequency of regenerating entire pages for one typo or local layout issue, then checking other content item by item.

Image-based Slides Local Editing

December 19, 2025 | Projects + Connectors

Configurations for browsers, email, calendars, cloud drives, and other tools can be saved with projects for direct reuse in subsequent tasks. When fixed data sources or delivery destinations are needed, materials, instructions, and tool environments can all be reused together — reducing repeated service selection and setup.

Projects + Connectors

💡

December 29, 2025 | Manus Announces Joining Meta

Manus announced it is joining Meta, stating it will continue selling and operating product subscription services through its website and app, with the company remaining headquartered in Singapore.

December 31, 2025 | Slack Connector

Can read team conversations it has access to, distill discussion information, and post results back to the original communication environment. Research and summarization tasks can thus reference messages already produced, without copying them one by one; it also complements the entry point for delegating tasks in threads.

Slack Connector

January — March 2026

January 12, 2026 | Meeting Minutes

After recording, it can identify speakers, generate minutes and action items, and use the meeting content to draft action plans, follow-up materials, or preliminary reports. Records and subsequent work share the same context, eliminating the step of transcribing first, then copying into another tool for analysis.

Meeting Minutes

January 13, 2026 | Official Similarweb Data Partnership

Website traffic, engagement metrics, and historical trends become callable data sources. When researching competitor websites, users can observe visit volume and changes, then compile reports or comparisons that add quantitative backing to webpage descriptions and scattered public materials.

Official Similarweb Data Partnership

January 19, 2026 | App Sharing and Testing

Adds mobile app packaging and testing workflows: Android supports AAB, iOS can upload to App Store Connect and test via TestFlight, helping with real-device validation and app store preparation.

App Sharing and Testing

January 27, 2026 | Manus Skills / Agent Skills

Professional knowledge, workflow steps, examples, and resources can be saved as on-demand skills. Verified research methods or report formats can be reused, reducing the work of writing long prompts each time and making it easier to migrate between products that support open standards.

Manus Skills: Saving frequently used workflows as skills

February 12, 2026 | Project Skills

Personal, team, and official skills can be selected per project to form fixed configurations. Different projects can adopt their own research methods and content requirements, which members inherit upon entry, letting similar tasks follow the same process and reducing ad-hoc selection and repeated setup.

Project Skills

February 16, 2026 | Manus Agents, First Telegram Integration

Receives tasks via text, voice, images, and files, and delivers results in chat. Users can delegate work, provide materials, and add requirements from their everyday messaging app, checking progress while on the go without opening a browser each time to re-establish context.

(Editor's note: This closely resembles today's Instinct and Muse)

March 16, 2026 | Manus Desktop / My Computer

When authorized, can read and write files through the local terminal and call installed tools and applications. Organizing photos, batch renaming, or development work can directly use local data and computing resources, eliminating the prep work of uploading files first and then installing software in the cloud.

March 17, 2026 | Granular Google Workspace Editing

Can modify specified paragraphs, manipulate tables, update presentation content, and handle comments, with existing files continuing to serve as working foundations. When revisions are needed repeatedly, users can preserve original structure and team collaboration history, reducing the need to regenerate entire documents and re-proofread.

March 18, 2026 | Meta Ads, Instagram, Creator Marketplace

Early beta covers ad analytics, social content creation and publishing with analytics, and creator discovery. Marketing tasks can simultaneously address data, creative assets, and collaboration targets, reducing the need to gather information, organize context, and transfer materials across multiple platforms.

April — June 2026

April 6, 2026 | Slack Agent and Full Slack Workflow

Private messages carry persistent memory, suitable for continuous delegation; @manus in threads can take over team discussions, while the connector handles reading conversations and posting results back. Users can choose entry points by communication scenario, letting task context and subsequent execution connect seamlessly.

💡

April 27, 2026 | Regulatory Authority Orders Acquisition Unwound

China's National Development and Reform Commission announced that the Foreign Investment Security Review Mechanism Office had issued a prohibition decision on the foreign acquisition of the Manus project, requiring the parties to unwind the transaction.

From the announcement of joining Meta to this decision, this article has documented 11 Manus product updates.

April 29, 2026 | Slides Integrated with GPT Image 2

Image-based presentations gain a new generation model while retaining local editing capabilities. Users can first generate visuals, text, and layout, then specify regions for continued refinement, letting creation and adjustment happen in one workflow and reducing the need to regenerate entire pages to fix details.

April 30, 2026 | Cloud Computer

Dedicated cloud machines run around the clock, persistently saving files, installed tools, and configurations. Scripts, bots, and services can execute long-term within them, with subsequent tasks inheriting the environment — no need to keep local computers on at all times, and no repeated installation and configuration work.

May 5, 2026 | Automatic Connector Recommendations

Authorization still requires user confirmation before a task can proceed to read emails or process cloud drive files. Users don't need to familiarize themselves with all integration options upfront — they can find the services they need around specific use cases, cutting down on hunting for settings and checking whether tools are available.

May 6, 2026 | Projects Learn from Tasks

Retained content includes decisions, terminology, examples, and working methods from sessions, proposed as updates in the form of instructions, files, or skills. Once approved by the user, they take effect — letting formats and requirements tuned in one task be reused by other members and in subsequent work.

May 11, 2026 | Make a Copy

Website projects can be copied into standalone tasks for experimentation, reuse, or developing new versions. Users try out pages, features, and content in the copy while preserving the original — useful for comparing approaches or launching new work from an existing project, reducing repeated setup and explanation.

May 12, 2026 | Preferred Browser

Users can designate an authorized, online Chrome instance as the default environment and initiate tasks from other computers. Subsequent work inherits its login state, extensions, and network configuration — suited for tasks that depend on fixed access conditions, reducing preparation when switching devices.

May 14, 2026 | Similarweb Deep Data Upgrade

Available data now extends to keywords, inbound and outbound referrals, landing pages, and top pages. Competitive research can trace further into where visitors enter and what content gains attention, pushing reports from aggregate traffic down to channel composition and specific page performance.

May 18, 2026 | Scheduled Tasks 2.0

Periodic work can continue running in the original task, reusing files, results, skills, and connectors; websites can also refresh data or run scripts on schedule. New calendar and run history views make it easy to check schedules, trace back specific results, and maintain reports and applications over time.

May 19, 2026 | Higgsfield MCP Connector

Models, reference materials, and video and image production options can be invoked within tasks, connecting research, copywriting, and professional media generation. Existing creative workflows can carry forward previously organized content, reducing cross-tool resubmission of context and materials.

May 25, 2026 | Shopify on Manus

Development stores can be built through conversation, with page and product content creation, operations analysis, and handoff to claim and go live. Around the same store, users can continuously prepare materials, build showcases, and check data — reducing tool switching during store setup.

Shopify on Manus

June 8, 2026 | Multiple Gmail / Google Calendar Accounts

Tasks and projects can specify which connected account to use, handling work, personal, or client information separately. Users maintaining multiple identities can clearly delineate data scope, reading emails and scheduling as needed without repeated disconnecting and reconnecting.

Multiple Gmail / Google Calendar Accounts

June 9, 2026 | Zoom Connector

Accessible meeting materials can be used for summarization, search, follow-up, and periodic review. Users can organize progress across multiple discussions, find records, and prepare subsequent materials — skipping the steps of manually locating meeting files, exporting text, and uploading to tasks.

Zoom Connector

June 24, 2026 | Hosting Modes

Offers auto-scaling and always-on configurations; users choose based on needs like traffic volume, persistent connections, and background tasks. Regular web pages and continuously running services can adopt different environments, matching deployment methods to actual usage and operational requirements.

Manus Hosting: Choose how your site is hosted

July–September 2026

July 9, 2026 | Branch

Independent tasks can be split off from historical messages, inheriting previous instructions, files, and conversation. While preserving original results, users can separately try new research directions, modified plans, or output formats — shared context doesn't need retransmission, and comparing different outcomes is easier.

Branch

July 13, 2026 | Auto-Publish

Once enabled, each successful build deploys automatically, with queued submissions processing in sequence. When frequently adjusting website copy, pages, or features, a batch of defined changes can proceed continuously — reducing repeated manual publishing and ensuring completed builds go live promptly.

Auto-Publish

July 14, 2026 | Native PowerPoint Slides

Generates .pptx files directly, preserving chart data, editable tables, and standard layouts. Users can adjust numbers mid-task, then download to desktop office suites for further tweaks — handing off to colleagues with full editing capability intact, cutting down on format conversion and back-and-forth revision work.

PowerPoint: Continue editing exported charts and slides

July 22, 2026 | Plan Mode

Can be activated before or during task execution to clarify requirements, check feasibility, and produce an editable plan covering objectives, steps, and constraints. Execution resumes after user confirmation — making it easier to catch directional misalignment early, rather than discovering major rework is needed only after full delivery.

Plan Mode

August 3, 2026 | ElevenLabs Connector

After linking a personal account, users can access voice generation, audio transcription, voice cloning, and audio application capabilities. Research findings and prepared scripts flow directly into production — eliminating repeated handoffs between script organization, voice processing, and app development.

ElevenLabs Connector

💡

September 1, 2026 | J&T Global Express: Manus officially resumes independent operations, with the founding team continuing to lead the company.

From the regulatory decision on April 27 through the resumption of independent operations, we logged 18 Manus product updates. 💡

September 28, 2026 — today, Manus 2.0 launches 🎉

Keep walking.

As long as you keep building, good things happen.