Manus gives Cue agents phone numbers, wallets and computers

Why it matters

Cue extends Manus from task completion into agents that can communicate and spend through their own accounts. The product's appeal will depend on how well Manus makes those permissions understandable and controllable.

Manus introduced Cue, a standalone app for personal AI agents, on September 28th, giving each agent its own email address, phone number, wallet and computer. The company says agents can send messages, make payments within a user-set budget, take calls and pass work among themselves in group chats. Manus described the launch in an X post and as part of its broader Manus 2.0 release.

Cue puts Manus founder and CEO Xiao Hong's application-first approach into a more personal product. In a 2025 interview, Xiao told the South China Morning Post he had not set out to build large language models; he wanted to focus on applications. Manus's current pitch carries that idea from software that completes tasks into agents that can act through communication and payment tools.

The structure Manus describes is closer to a small team than a single chatbot. A user could assign one agent to research venues, another to shortlist options and a third to draft a presentation, with agents handing work to one another in a shared group chat. The user sets the direction and makes the final call, according to the company's Manus 2.0 announcement. Manus also says an agent can respond to calls and leave a summary, or use a restaurant QR code to place an order or hold a place in line.

Those examples depend on agents having ways to reach beyond a chat window. A dedicated phone number and email address give an agent channels to communicate; its own computer gives it a workspace to carry out tasks; and a wallet with a user-defined budget gives it a way to pay. The arrangement could let an agent continue a task after a user leaves the app, while a group of agents divides a larger request into separate jobs. Those are product claims from Manus, not independently demonstrated results.

The wallet is also the detail that turns Cue's pitch into a question of permission. Manus says users set payment budgets and retain the final decision on shared work. Its announcement does not explain in detail how users approve individual transactions, restrict what agents can do with their email or phone identity, or review actions after they occur. Giving software the ability to communicate and spend makes those controls central to whether people will trust it with ordinary errands, not just research and drafting.

Cue is in early access and free with an invitation code, according to Manus. The company says the app is available on the web, desktop and mobile, while iOS access is pending App Store review. The launch code, MEETCUE, is available to a limited number of early users, and people admitted to the service receive additional codes to share. That invitation gate gives Manus a controlled opening for a product whose features involve real-world communications and payments.

Cue arrives alongside a larger Manus 2.0 push. The release also includes Manus Studio, an upgraded desktop workspace for documents, code, games and video; Cloud Computer, a dedicated environment users can purchase for projects; and Automations that can start work in response to events such as a new email or calendar item. Manus says a test of its Cascade agent framework used 23.2% fewer tokens, completed tasks 28.2% faster and cost 32% less to run than its previous system in one tested configuration. Those are company-reported results, and the company did not describe the test configuration in the launch post.

The release broadens Manus's application strategy: from an agent that works through a user's request to a set of agents with separate identities and resources. Cue's appeal will depend on whether people find that autonomy useful enough to grant those resources, and whether the controls are clear enough to make the delegation feel manageable.