# Muse vs Manus Cue (2026): Which AI Agent Should You Pick?

September 30, 2026 · Justin Canetti · 8 min read · Comparisons

## The short answer

**Meta Muse is the one to pick if you want to start today in the US; Cue by Manus is the one to pick if you can get an invite and want an agent with its own email, phone number, wallet, and computer.** Both launched in September 2026 and both are aimed at individuals.

- **Pick Meta Muse if** you want open sign-up, a free tier with a clear price ladder, WhatsApp access, and a large list of retail and travel partners.
- **Pick Cue by Manus if** you can get an early access invite code, want event-triggered automations, and like the idea of agents that share a group chat and split up a job.

Neither documents team plans or compliance certifications. For work with colleagues and clients, jump to the last section or read [AI beyond ChatGPT for business](https://openassistant.us/blog/ai-beyond-chatgpt-for-business).

## Meta Muse vs. Cue by Manus at a Glance

|  | Meta Muse | Cue by Manus |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **What it is** | Meta's consumer personal AI agent, launched September 8, 2026 | Standalone Manus app for personal agents, launched September 28, 2026 with Manus 2.0 |
| **Who it is for** | Individual consumers; one owner per agent | Individuals; agents can collaborate with each other |
| **Availability** | US only at launch; card required to start | Early access, invite code required; iOS awaiting App Store review |
| **Where you use it** | muse.ai, iOS, Android, WhatsApp chats | Web, desktop, and mobile apps |
| **Its own identity** | Own browser in a Muse Secure VM; own email address announced as coming soon | Each agent has its own email address, phone number, wallet, and dedicated computer |
| **What it can do for you** | Sends email, books travel, fills forms, browses, negotiates, pays via Link by Stripe | Completes tasks on its own machine, sends messages, pays within a user-set budget, scans QR codes for restaurant ordering |
| **Contacting outside people** | Sends email and negotiates; no confirmed outbound calls found | Sends messages and answers incoming calls with a summary in the app; outbound calls not verified |
| **Multi-person or team support** | One owner per agent; no group support found | Multiple agents can share a group chat; multiple humans sharing one agent not documented |
| **Workflows and automation** | Background runs, custom API connections; no workflow builder documented | Tasks can start on events (new email, calendar event, Notion update, Slack message); scheduled tasks become Automations |
| **Payments** | Link by Stripe; PayPal named at Connect | Payments inside a budget you set |
| **Privacy and training** | Training on interactions on by default, opt-out in Settings; not shared with Meta ad systems | Not documented in what we found |
| **Security and compliance** | No SOC 2, ISO, HIPAA, or GDPR certifications found | No SOC 2, admin, or audit information found; only a spending budget documented |
| **Pricing** | Free tier, Power $20 per month, Maximum $100 per month | Free during early access; later pricing not disclosed |

*Details reflect public sites, help pages, and press coverage as of September 2026. Both products change quickly, so re-check before relying on any single row.*

## What is Meta Muse?

Muse is Meta's consumer personal AI agent, launched on September 8, 2026. It is separate from the Muse Spark models and from Meta Business Agent, which is a WhatsApp Business product.

It runs in the background in a Muse Secure VM with its own browser and can send email, book travel, fill forms, browse, negotiate, and pay through Link by Stripe. Connectors cover email, calendar, payments, health, smart home, dining, shopping, music and events, with partners like Shopify, Best Buy, Sephora, Walmart, Expedia and Instacart. You can name it and set its avatar and style.

Announced at Connect on September 23: a wake word on AI glasses, a Realtime Avatar for live video chat, Mac desktop control, and an email address for Muse itself. Those are coming, not shipped.

## What is Cue by Manus?

Cue is a standalone Manus app for personal agents, launched on September 28, 2026 alongside Manus 2.0. Each agent gets its own email address, phone number, wallet, and dedicated computer, a Cloud Computer that keeps jobs running when your device is closed. Pricing for the Cloud Computer is undisclosed.

A note on ownership, since it confuses people: Meta announced it would acquire Manus in December 2025, China blocked the deal in April 2026, and Manus said in August that it would return to operating independently. Cue launched after that split and is not a Meta product. Computerworld framed it as a rival to Muse.

Cue's agents can share a group chat, split parts of a job, and delegate to each other, for example a research agent, a shortlist agent and a presentation agent, with you giving final approval.

## Is Cue by Manus free? Access and pricing compared

**Cue is free during early access, but you need an invite code.** The web, desktop and mobile apps exist, though the iOS app was awaiting App Store review at launch. Pricing after early access has not been disclosed.

**Muse has a free tier and open sign-up in the US.** TechCrunch reported a free tier with a usage meter, Power at $20 per month, and Maximum at $100 per month, with a card required to start and a possible small transaction fee later.

So Muse wins on access and price clarity; Cue wins on price today, if you can get in. See the [pricing page](https://openassistant.us/pricing) for how we handle it, and our [best AI personal assistants of 2026](https://openassistant.us/blog/best-ai-personal-assistants-2026) for other options.

## Does it have its own phone number and email?

This is the clearest difference. Cue gives each agent an email address, phone number, wallet and computer from day one. Muse runs in its own VM and browser, and Meta has said an email address for Muse is coming soon, which could be cc'd or receive forwards. We did not find a Muse phone number.

Cue's caveats matter, though. We could not verify outbound voice calls, whether it asks for approval before messaging someone, or how it identifies itself to outsiders. It can answer incoming calls and leave a summary in the app.

If an agent contacting other people on your behalf matters to you, read [how to know if an AI tool is safe](https://openassistant.us/blog/how-to-know-if-an-ai-tool-is-safe) before you turn on any of that.

## Head to head: what each can actually do

- **Muse's edge** is reach and safety design: payments, a large partner list, a browser fallback, custom API connections, and external permission gating for emails and purchases, enforced outside the model.
- **Cue's edge** is automation and agent-to-agent work: tasks triggered by events, scheduled tasks turned into Automations, group chats among agents, and a wallet with a budget you control.
- **Muse's gap**: one owner per agent, no group support, and no workflow builder we could find.
- **Cue's gap**: multiple humans on one agent, team plans and shared tasks are not documented, and it is unclear how approval works before it messages someone.

Cue also comes with Manus Studio for docs, slides, video and code. Manus reports efficiency gains from a new harness (for example 23.2% fewer tokens in one tested configuration), but that is a vendor claim we could not check. For ideas on what to delegate, see [tasks to automate with AI](https://openassistant.us/blog/tasks-to-automate-with-ai).

## Privacy and security compared

Meta's help center documents a lot for Muse. Training on interactions is on by default with an opt-out in Settings, Data controls. Names, emails, phone numbers and SSNs are stripped, data is not shared with Meta ad systems, passwords and payment details are kept from the model, and a separate Sentinel agent approves internet requests. A user-held-key Confidential VM is promised, not shipped.

For Cue, we did not find a comparable privacy or training policy, and no SOC 2, admin or audit information. The only documented control is the spending budget. Neither product lists compliance certifications, so neither is a clear fit for regulated work. Our [trust page](https://openassistant.us/trust) explains what we look for.

## Who each is best for

- **Muse** is best for US consumers who want to start now, like WhatsApp, and want broad shopping, travel and payment integrations with documented safeguards.
- **Cue** is best for people who can get an invite and want a full agent identity bundle, event-triggered automations and collaborating agents.
- **Neither** is documented for teams. For work with colleagues, see [how to use AI at work](https://openassistant.us/blog/how-to-use-ai-at-work), [AI scheduling assistants](https://openassistant.us/ai-scheduling-assistant), and the [alternatives for work](https://openassistant.us/blog/meta-muse-alternative-for-work) and [Cue alternative](https://openassistant.us/blog/cue-by-manus-alternative-for-work).

For other pairings, see [Instinct vs. Muse](https://openassistant.us/blog/instinct-vs-muse) and [Muse vs. Grok Bot](https://openassistant.us/blog/muse-vs-grok-bot).

## How they differ in one line

Muse is the open, documented, broad-reach consumer agent; Cue is the invite-only agent with its own phone, email, wallet and computer, plus automations and agent group chats.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is Cue by Manus a Meta product?

No. Meta announced it would acquire Manus in December 2025, but China blocked the deal in April 2026 and Manus said in August it would operate independently. Cue launched after the split.

### Is Manus Cue free?

It is free during early access, which requires an invite code. Pricing after early access has not been disclosed.

### How much does Meta Muse cost?

TechCrunch reported a free tier with a usage meter, Power at $20 per month, and Maximum at $100 per month. A card is required to start.

### Does Cue have its own phone number?

Yes, each Cue agent has its own email address, phone number, wallet, and dedicated computer. We could not verify outbound voice calls.

### Does Muse have its own email address?

Meta announced at Connect on September 23 that Muse will get its own email address soon. It was not available at the time of writing.

### Can I use Cue or Muse with a team?

Neither documents team plans or shared tasks between people. Cue lets multiple agents share a group chat, but that is different from multiple humans sharing one agent.

## Sources

- [Meta: Introducing Muse](https://about.fb.com/news/2026/09/introducing-muse-personal-ai-agent/)
- [Meta help center: Muse and your data](https://www.meta.com/help/artificial-intelligence/1047255454427887/)
- [Manus: Introducing Manus 2.0 and Cue](https://manus.im/blog/introducing-manus-2-0)
- [The Next Web: Manus 2.0 and Cue](https://thenextweb.com/news/manus-2-0-cue-ai-agents-email-phone-wallet)

Facts last verified 2026-10-01.

## More comparisons

- [Grok Bot Pricing (2026): What It Costs and Which Plan You Need](https://openassistant.us/blog/grok-bot-pricing-and-plans)
- [Cue by Manus vs Claude Cowork (2026): Which AI Agent Wins?](https://openassistant.us/blog/manus-cue-vs-claude-cowork)
- [Meta Muse vs Claude Cowork (2026): Which AI Agent Is Better?](https://openassistant.us/blog/meta-muse-vs-claude-cowork)
- [Best AI Personal Assistants and Agents in 2026, Compared](https://openassistant.us/blog/best-ai-personal-assistants-2026)
- [Instinct vs Meta Muse (2026): Which AI Personal Agent Is Better?](https://openassistant.us/blog/instinct-vs-muse)
- [Meta Muse vs Grok Bot (2026): Which AI Agent Is Better?](https://openassistant.us/blog/muse-vs-grok-bot)
- [Grok Bot vs Cue by Manus (2026): Which AI Agent Wins?](https://openassistant.us/blog/grok-bot-vs-manus-cue)
- [Instinct vs Cue by Manus (2026): Which AI Agent Wins?](https://openassistant.us/blog/instinct-vs-manus-cue)

## If your work involves other people

OpenAssistant is an executive assistant for teams, with its own phone number and email. Read how it compares:

- [How OpenAssistant compares to Meta Muse](https://openassistant.us/blog/meta-muse-alternative-for-work)
- [How OpenAssistant compares to Cue by Manus](https://openassistant.us/blog/cue-by-manus-alternative-for-work)

## Keep reading

**Guides**

- [Best AI Executive Assistants in 2026 (Compared)](https://openassistant.us/blog/best-ai-executive-assistants-2026)
- [Best AI Assistants You Can Text (iMessage, WhatsApp, SMS) in 2026](https://openassistant.us/blog/best-ai-assistants-you-can-text)
- [Best AI Assistants That Make Phone Calls for You (2026)](https://openassistant.us/blog/ai-assistants-that-make-phone-calls)
- [How to Use AI as an Executive Assistant (Step by Step)](https://openassistant.us/blog/how-to-use-ai-as-an-executive-assistant)
- [How to Know If an AI Tool Is Safe to Use in 2026](https://openassistant.us/blog/how-to-know-if-an-ai-tool-is-safe)
- [How to Use AI at Work: 10 Practical Ways in 2026](https://openassistant.us/blog/how-to-use-ai-at-work)
- [How Businesses Can Use AI Beyond ChatGPT in 2026](https://openassistant.us/blog/ai-beyond-chatgpt-for-business)
- [20 Tasks You Can Automate With AI at Work in 2026](https://openassistant.us/blog/tasks-to-automate-with-ai)
- [9 Best AI Calendar Assistants for 2026](https://openassistant.us/blog/best-ai-calendar-assistants)
- [7 Best AI Email Assistants for 2026](https://openassistant.us/blog/best-ai-email-assistants)

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- [AI executive assistant](https://openassistant.us/ai-executive-assistant)
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