TLDR: this AI is 10x BETTER than Clawdbot, and reading this now will put you ahead of 99% of people.
The reality is that Openclaw (clawd) has major bottlenecks that make it difficult for the average person to extract any value.
It's hard to set up, expensive to run, and has critical security risks.
If you've actually set up Openclaw, you know this to be true.
This article is the solution to all of Openclaw's problems.
I'm about to show you how to get all the benefits of agentic automation with zero complex setup, at no cost, and with 100% security.
At the very end of this article, I give this tool a weighted score of 1-10 across various categories - accessibility, value, impact, and privacy/security.
Spoiler alert: it ranked higher than Openclaw on most - stick around until the end to see my official ratings versus Openclaw.
Contents
l: Introduction
ll: Set up & Best Practices
lll: Real Workflows (exact prompts included)
IV: Valuable Tools & Resources
V: Final Thoughts
Introduction
So, what AI tool am I talking about?
ManusAI.
If you've experimented with Manus before, you know how good it is, and I'm about to show you how to further skyrocket your productivity beyond what you thought was possible.
For those who've never tested Manus before, think of it this way:
ChatGPT tells you what to do.
Manus takes action for you.
It can edit Google Docs/Spreadsheets, schedule automations, vibe code apps, conduct deep research, and much more.
This is your all-in-one personal AI assistant that lives on your computer with no terminal installation like Openclaw.
Getting Started
Head to https:// manus. im/app
Create Account
Done
It's that simple.
Once you have an account, you'll be greeted by a chatbox similar to those on other AI platforms.
Now, you can start prompting Manus to do things for you - feel free to start testing.
If you feel lost on what to use Manus for, don't worry - in section three, I'll show you real workflows with prompts you can copy/paste right now.
Set up & Best Practices - Getting the most out of Manus (5 tips)
How to pick your model - model selection matrix:
Manus 1.6 Lite: for everyday tasks (cheap)
Manus 1.6: agent for "medium" tasks (affordable)
Manus 1.6 Max: for complex workflows - vibe coding, design, etc. (expensive)
2. Prompting 101
How to properly prompt agentic Manus models.
For me, I've found this prompting structure to be extremely reliable:
[Role] + [Agentic Task] + [Steps] + [Output format]
Example: Act as an Excel spreadsheet expert. I need you to edit this spreadsheet [paste link]. I want you to [insert tasks] and export the new spreadsheet as a Google spreadsheet instead of an Excel file.
Most people don't know this, but Manus also has a massive prompt library on the homepage.
Take advantage of these pre-built prompts.
3. Connectors
To get the most out of your Manus prompts, enable connectors.
You can do this in Settings → Connectors.
The main connector you want to set up is "My Browser" - this allows Manus to take action in your browser.
Manus has 70+ connectors (Notion, Google Drive, Slack, GitHub, and more).
Go through them all and set up relevant connectors.
4. Manus Extension
Once you have enabled connectors, install the Manus Browser Operator.
This extension will give Manus hands and let it actually use the browser connection you just set up.
Here: https://manus. im/features/manus- browser-operator
5. Manus Skills
This is a brand new feature, and I love it.
Manus skills are like Claude Skills but for agents.
These Skills allow agents to automate repetitive tasks within specified instruction parameters.
Highly recommend spending time building Manus Skills.
Real Workflows (exact prompts included)
Now that you know a bit about Manus, you're probably wondering how to use it in your daily workflows to boost productivity.
For this section, I want to run you through some of my personal workflows and their exact prompts/instruction sets.
Scheduled Tasks (market research)
Manus is better than Clawdbot at this.
In Settings → Scheduled Tasks, you can schedule task automations you want Manus to run alongside your connectors.
For example, every single day at 9 am, I have Manus use my browser connection to scan the web and send me a morning crypto market research report.
I'm in the crypto markets, so market research reports are helpful as crypto moves very fast, but you can do this for literally anything.
Collating top AI news, scanning your Notion to-do lists, and more
Here's the exact prompt you can use to have Manus deliver a daily crypto market research report:
2. Stock Analysis Skill
As I mentioned in the previous section, Manus has some awesome Skills.
One of the Manus Skills I've been heavily using lately is a "stock analysis" skill.
This Skill essentially serves as my personal stock market research assistant.
It summarises company research, technical analysis/indicators, scans price APIs, and more.
You can add this Skill to your Manus now, here is the Skill . MD file:
3. Mail Manus
Lastly, everyone should be using Mail Manus.
One of Openclaw's big selling points is that you can text it from apps like Telegram.
Well, Manus' version of this is Mail Manus.
Mail Manus lets you trigger Manus tasks by forwarding emails to a unique bot address. Instead of switching between your inbox and the Manus app, you can delegate work directly from your email and receive results back via email.
While it doesn't have the full capabilities of Clawdbot, it's a big unlock for most people and essentially serves as a personal email assistant.
I've been using this for a while (10+ months), and it is one of my main Manus use cases.
Without leaking my email data, here is the instruction process for exactly how I turned Mail Manus into my personal email assistant:
Valuable Tools & Resources
1. Manus Academy: An official resource by the Manus team on how to effectively use their AI
https:// academy. Manus. im/
2. Manus Skills 101: An official resource by the Manus team on building effective Skills
https://manus. im/docs/ features/skills
3. Manus Tools: A huge GitHub library of prompts/tools
https://gist.github. com/jlia0/db0a9695b3ca7609c9b1a08dcbf872c9
Final Thoughts
Average Joe Ratings - Openclaw versus Manus:
Accessibility
Openclaw 4/10 | Requires CLI, Node ≥22, channel config. Hours/days to get running and possibly a dedicated device/servers.
Manus 8/10 | Straightforward setup - just create an account, free mobile app, and web use
Value
Openclaw 5/10 | Open source, but hidden costs add up: API calls, hardware, time investment.
Manus 7/10 | For the average person, you'll get a ton of free value, and paid plans are incredibly cheap compared to Openclaw costs.
Privacy/Security
Openclaw 2/10 | Risk of prompt injections, requires technical expertise to secure properly. One misconfiguration = complete compromise.
Manus 7/10 | Just as secure as other AI tools like ChatGPT - of course, this is a bit subjective, and anytime you give your data to an AI, there is risk of data leaks/misuse, but nowhere near the level of risk as complete device control like Openclaw.
Impact
Openclaw 9/10 | If it works safely, genuinely transformative. 24/7 AI assistant across your entire desktop.
Manus 5/10 | Genuinely useful, will save most people time/money, but can't do nearly as much as Openclaw in terms of sheer desktop control capabilities.
Final Overall Scores
Openclaw: 5/10
Manus: 6.75/10
Outro
I hope you found value in this article.
for weekly AI content like this.If you did, be sure to follow me@milesdeutscher
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