Manus has launched Cue, a standalone app for personal AI agents that gives each agent its own email address, phone number, wallet and computer.
The launch came on September 28 alongside Manus 2.0, and it lands days after Meta’s Muse turned the always-on agent into the industry’s hottest product category. “Give it a cue, and it gets to work,” the company said in its launch announcement.
The pitch is that Cue agents behave less like chatbots and more like staff. Each agent gets its own identity, so it can send messages, pay for things within a budget you set, and carry tasks through on its own machine. It can also take your calls and leave you a summary inside Cue. In one of the company’s examples, you scan a restaurant QR code and your agent orders for you or holds your place in line.
Build a team
Cue also lets you put several agents in a group chat with a shared goal, and they hand work to each other. One researches venues for a New York launch, another makes a shortlist, a third drafts the deck. You set the direction and make the final call, according to the company.
Founder Xiao Hong described Cue in a post on the social platform Jike as a digital individual with its own phone number, email and payment capabilities.
Manus 2.0 under the hood
Cue shipped as part of Manus 2.0, which the company frames as a rebuild rather than a routine update. The new Cascade agent harness used 23.2% fewer tokens, finished tasks 28.2% faster and cost 32% less to run than the old system in one tested configuration, the company said.
The release also adds Cloud Computer for always-on projects, Automations that trigger on events like an incoming email or a Slack message, and a desktop client renamed Manus Studio with video editing and game development workspaces. “The more AI can do, the more you should be able to do,” Manus said in its launch video.
Availability
Cue is in early access on the web, desktop and mobile, with the iOS version still awaiting App Store review. It is free to try with the invite code MEETCUE, open to a limited number of early users on a first-come, first-served basis, and everyone who gets access receives extra invite codes to share.
The agent wars heat up
The timing is pointed. Meta’s Muse gave every user a cloud computer and a cute animated face, and drew millions of downloads earlier this month.
OpenAI answered with Dots, always-on agents that keep working after you log off. Cue takes a different bet. Instead of a face, it gives the agent an identity inside the systems humans already use, an inbox, a phone line and a wallet. Manus is building from a position of independence, weeks after it resumed operating on its own following Beijing’s block of Meta’s $2 billion acquisition.
Early reactions
The launch drew a wave of creator breakdowns. Manus’s Korea account posted a launch walkthrough showing agents forwarding calls and ordering from restaurant QR codes.
One widely shared reel called Cue kind of scary in an affectionate way, and asked viewers what they would hand their agent first. The sharper question came from a Threads creator who asked whether people would really feel comfortable giving an AI agent its own wallet.
What to watch
The open questions are about control. The announcement does not spell out how users approve individual transactions, restrict what an agent can do with its email or phone identity, or review actions after the fact.
Those details will decide whether Cue feels like a team of interns or a liability with a phone number. Manus has invited early users in with MEETCUE, and the answers will likely come from them first.
