Browser Use Sees Explosive Growth Amid Manus’ Rise

A new AI tool called Browser Use has unexpectedly shot to fame, thanks to its connection with Manus, a viral AI “agent” platform developed by Chinese startup Butterfly Effect. While Manus itself has been making waves, the unintended consequence has been a surge of interest in Browser Use—an AI tool designed to make websites more accessible for automated tasks.

Browser Use Sees Explosive Growth

In just one week, daily downloads of Browser Use skyrocketed from 5,000 on March 3 to 28,000 by March 10, according to co-creator Gregor Zunic, who spoke to TechCrunch.

“The past few days have been really wild,” Zunic shared via direct message. “We became the biggest trending repository on GitHub, got a massive spike in downloads, and all of that is actually converting into real-world usage.”

The Manus Effect: How One Post Changed Everything

So, what triggered this sudden growth? A viral post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) explaining how Manus integrates Browser Use for various automated web tasks amassed over 2.4 million views and hundreds of reshares.

Since Browser Use plays a key role in enabling Manus to navigate websites, click through menus, and fill out forms, this exposure led thousands of curious users to try it out.

Born from a Student Project, Now a Game-Changer

Zunic and his co-founder Magnus Müller developed Browser Use last year at ETH Zurich’s Student Project House accelerator. Initially, it was just a side project fueled by a shared belief that web automation would be a major trend in 2025.

“What started as casual brainstorming over a few lunches turned into a challenge,” Zunic recalled. “We thought, ‘Let’s build something small, throw it on Hacker News, and see what happens.’ We built an MVP in just four days, launched it, and—boom! It hit number one. From there, it’s been an absolute rocket.”

How Browser Use Works

At its core, Browser Use helps AI models understand and interact with web pages by extracting key elements like buttons, widgets, and menus.

Its capabilities include:
✔ Managing multiple browser tabs
✔ Performing actions like saving files and database operations
✔ Handling mouse and keyboard inputs

With Manus bringing AI agents into the spotlight, Browser Use has emerged as a critical tool for making automated web interactions seamless. Whether this trend will be sustained in the long run remains to be seen, but for now, Browser Use is riding the AI wave to new heights.