AI agent startup Manus posted a roughly 27-second demo video on its official X account late on Oct. 15 Taipei time, promoting a workflow feature that lets users hand repetitive tasks to what it described as an automated system. The message in the post was that users only need to tell Manus when the job should begin and what the finished output should look like, and the system will carry it out on its own.
The wording suggested the capability was available "now," but the company’s own documentation shows this was not a same-day launch. Instead, the post packaged together automation features Manus had been rolling out over recent months. The timing also fits a broader stretch of product updates after Manus said in August that it had left Meta and returned to independent operations.
Three types of automation are listed in Manus documentation
According to the official Manus Automations documentation, the current automation suite is divided into three categories.
- Schedule, which runs at specified times and is positioned for recurring tasks such as daily briefings, weekly reports and periodic research;
- Triggered task, which starts when a specific event occurs, such as a new GitHub pull request, a Shopify refund or an incoming invoice email;
- Advanced automation, still in beta, which turns natural-language requests into workflows spanning multiple sources, conditions and actions.
The documentation also notes that events from sources including GitHub, Shopify and Webhook can arrive instantly, while some connected applications are checked at intervals through polling. That means not every trigger fires in real time. Manus advises users to specify exact times and time zones. Its example says "every weekday at 5 p.m. Singapore time" is more reliable than phrasing such as "before the end of the workday."
Scheduled tasks came first, event triggers arrived with Manus 2.0
This product line has been building for months. Manus introduced Scheduled Tasks 2.0 in May, adding the ability for scheduled jobs to preserve the context and files of the same task over time. It also allowed web apps built by Manus to include timed actions and added a "skip confirmation" option, letting trusted workflows send emails, publish content or post directly. At the time, the company said the feature had been opened to all users.
At the end of September, Manus 2.0 expanded scheduled tasks into Automations. That release added workflows triggered by new emails, changes in ad performance, calendar events, Slack messages and Notion updates. It also introduced a dedicated Cloud Computer environment designed to run around the clock. On that timeline, the latest X post reads as a fresh marketing push for capabilities already in market rather than a new product announcement.
Product push follows Manus’ split from Meta
The report also revisits Manus’ corporate backdrop. According to CNBC, Meta announced in December last year that it would acquire Manus for roughly $2 billion. China’s National Development and Reform Commission then required the parties to withdraw the transaction in April this year. Reuters later reported that Manus said on Aug. 11 it would resume independent operations and would delete some user data to comply with regulatory requirements.
After that, Manus rolled out 2.0 and Manus Flex, which supports user-supplied API keys. In that context, presenting automation as a flagship selling point shows Manus trying to move beyond one-off task execution and toward a role in day-to-day enterprise workflows.
The report also flags a trade-off. Features such as "skip confirmation" may improve efficiency, but they also allow AI to send emails or publish content without human review. Users still need to weigh those risks carefully before granting that level of authorization.