Test-Driving Manus: A New Generative AI Research Tool
And how it built a Real Estate investor report about Lisbon, Portugal, in 32 minutes
Last week, I ran an experiment. I gave Manus a somehow complex, open-ended task:
“Conduct deep research about real estate in Lisbon, Portugal. Give me price evolution €/m², locations, optimisations for investors, big opportunities, rising and dropping areas, how many rooms an investor should look for, rental yields, and any intelligent analyses you may find relevant. Wrap it into a visually striking investor-ready report.”
What happened next genuinely surprised me.
Here’s the play-by-play:
Manus kicked off like a digital analyst on a mission. It mapped out a clear research path, sourcing fundamentals, digging into reports (Savills Q2 2024 came up early), and then pivoted seamlessly when it hit the occasional wall — like Cloudflare’s human verification or a server hiccup.
What stood out most wasn’t just the data it compiled—though that was solid and structured—but how it worked with me. It asked for guidance when blocked, offered options, and made decisions like a sharp junior analyst would, checking in without being needy.
In total, it took just 32 minutes to go from raw query to polished report, complete with visualisations (rental yield heatmaps, price evolution charts, investment matrices, etc.). It even offered an interactive presentation site format.
Here is the final report in pdf (with no editions):
How does it compare to other research AIs like DeepResearch or DeepSeek?
So far, Manus feels more thoughtful and more intentional. Less of a word-blender and more of a strategist. It doesn’t just throw information at you — it curates, analyses, and packages it with a strong purpose.
UX-wise?
Slick and intuitive. Very much in the ChatGPT realm. No technical acrobatics required.
Downsides?
It doesn’t profoundly vet the truthfulness of its findings — it reads as intelligent, but I’d still recommend sanity-checking before presenting to actual investors :). That said, as a Lisbon local with a decent feel for the market, I found the insights plausible and relevant.
Final verdict?
If you're in any research-heavy field, watch this space. Manus is the first Generative AI tool I’ve seen that behaves less like a chatbot and more like a trustworthy research assistant.