Manus, the viral AI “agent” platform from Chinese language startup Butterfly Impact, has had an unintended facet impact: elevating the profile of one other AI instrument referred to as Browser Use.
Browser Use, which goals to make web sites extra accessible for agentic functions that carry out duties on a person’s behalf, has skilled explosive development previously week. Each day downloads greater than quintupled from round 5,000 on March 3 to twenty-eight,000 on March 10, co-creator Gregor Zunic instructed TechCrunch.
“The previous few days have been actually wild,” Zunic mentioned by way of DM. “We’re the largest trending repository [on GitHub], obtained a great deal of downloads [and] all that really converts to huge utilization numbers.”
Why the uptick? A put up about how Manus leverages Browser Use garnered over 2.4 tens of millions views and lots of of reshares on X. Browser Use is likely one of the parts Manus employs to execute numerous duties, like clicking via web site menus and filling out kinds.
Zunic launched the eponymous firm behind Browser Use with Magnus Müller final yr out of ETH Zurich’s Scholar Undertaking Home accelerator. The pair thought internet brokers — brokers that navigate web sites and internet apps autonomously — have been going to be the “huge factor” in 2025.
“What began as informal brainstorming over just a few lunches changed into a problem: Let’s construct one thing small, throw it on Hacker Information, and see what occurs,” Zunic mentioned. “We put collectively an MVP in 4 days, launched it, and growth — primary. From there, it’s been an absolute rocket.”
Brower Use extracts a web site’s parts — buttons, widgets, and so forth — to permit AI fashions to extra simply work together with them. The instrument can handle a number of browser tabs, arrange actions like saving recordsdata and performing database operations, and deal with mouse and keyboard inputs.
Browser Use the corporate costs for managed plans, but additionally provides a free, self-hosted model of its software program. That’s the model that’s blown up within the days since Manus’ unveiling.
Zunic says he and Magnus try to “promote a shovel” to builders chasing after the gold rush of internet brokers.
“We wished to create a basis layer that everybody will construct browser brokers on,” Zunic mentioned. “In our minds, there will likely be extra brokers on the internet than people by the tip of the yr.”
That may sound overly bullish, however a number of analysts predict that the broader marketplace for AI brokers will certainly develop enormously within the months to come back. In accordance with Analysis and Markets, the sector will attain $42 billion in 2029. Deloitte anticipates that half of corporations utilizing AI will deploy AI brokers by 2027.
Manus impact apart, Browser Use’s timing seems to have been fortuitous.
Up to date 12:45 p.m. Pacific: An earlier model of this story incorrectly referred to “Browser Use” as “Browser Person” within the headline. We remorse the error.
