Meta reportedly paid 2 to 3 billion dollars to acquire the Chinese AI startup Manus — and is wasting no time positioning it as the new AI agent for businesses. Meta is currently notifying its advertising customers about Manus via email; Manus is described as a tool for creating fully functional websites or compelling ad content, simply a means to achieve business goals, growth, and revenue.
And: Just a few months after the announced acquisition of the AI startup Manus in December 2025, Meta has begun integrating its own advertising platforms and social networks directly into the Manus workspace. Through so-called “Connectors,” users will in future be able to seamlessly control and analyze their Meta services from within the Manus interface. Two integrations are already in an early beta phase.
Overview of the New Meta Integrations
- Meta Ads Manager Connector: Users can connect their Meta Ads Manager directly to the Manus workspace. The Connector makes it possible to query advertising data in real time, generate automated reports, and analyze campaign performance using natural language. Manus translates the raw data into reports, presentations, dashboards, or infographics. The connection is read-only, meaning campaigns cannot be modified via Manus. Multiple ad accounts can also be connected and managed simultaneously.
- Instagram Connector: The Instagram Connector allows users with a professional Instagram profile to create and publish content directly from within the Manus workspace. Supported formats include posts, carousels, Stories, and Reels, including captions. In addition, engagement data such as reach, likes, comments, shares, and saves can be retrieved. Based on this data, Manus is also intended to provide strategic recommendations for improving content performance.
Both integrations are still in beta and are not yet available to all users. Meta and Manus describe the Connectors as a first step toward a fully integrated, AI-powered workspace for businesses and advertisers.
This rapid, tight integration is rather unusual and reflects considerable time pressure. Following the acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp, Zuckerberg was very careful not to immediately impose Facebook’s logic on the acquired services. And for good reason: when WhatsApp was to be linked with Facebook, the backlash for Zuckerberg was significant, and many users fled to alternatives such as Telegram at the time.
Background: Meta’s Acquisition of Manus
In December 2025, Meta announced it would acquire the Chinese AI startup Manus in a deal valued at over two billion US dollars. Manus had previously made a name for itself as a provider of a fully autonomous AI agent and was talked about in the tech industry as “China’s next DeepSeek.” The agent is said to be capable of independently completing complex tasks, including competitive analyses, website creation, and the automation of business processes. According to its own figures, Manus had processed more than 147 trillion tokens since its market launch and enabled the creation of over 80 million virtual computers.
“Joining Meta allows us to build on a stronger, more sustainable foundation without changing how Manus works or how decisions are made.” (Xiao Hong, CEO of Manus)
Manus will continue to operate from Singapore and offer its subscriptions unchanged. In the long term, the offering is to be expanded to the billions of users and businesses on Meta’s platforms.
Chinese Authorities Prevent Manus Founders from Leaving the Country
However, the acquisition has also had political consequences. Shortly after the deal was announced, China’s Ministry of Commerce announced it would review the transaction for compliance with local laws and regulations. According to a report by the Financial Times from March 2026, Manus CEO Xiao Hong and Chief Scientist Ji Yichao were instructed by Chinese authorities not to leave the country during the ongoing review. An official exit ban of this kind is an instrument occasionally used in China to keep individuals in the country during regulatory or criminal investigations.
How long the review will last and what specific impact it could have on the completion of the acquisition remains unclear at this time. Meta and Manus have so far made no public statement regarding the reports of the exit ban.
