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Manus connected to my Instagram and yowza
Published 28 days ago • 5 min read
Weekly AI Highlights: March 28 - April 3, 2026
What Small Business Owners Need to Know Right Now
by Jen Lehner
Reader,
This week has been pretty quiet on the AI news front. And honestly, I kind of like it. The last few weeks have been a firehose of updates. Slower weeks are good. They give you time to actually try the things we talk about here.
That said, a few things worth knowing. Claude Code got Computer Use (the developer version of what Cowork already has). Meta launched prescription AI glasses with some genuinely useful new features. Google Vids (my darling) got a big upgrade. And I connected Manus to my Instagram and it is basically psycho. It is so good. More on that in a second.
Let's get into it.
1. I Connected Manus to My Instagram (and It Did Everything)
This isn't brand new, but I tried it this week and I have to talk about it.
Manus now has an Instagram connector. You connect your professional Instagram profile, and Manus can create content, write captions, generate graphics, and publish directly to your feed. Posts, carousels, stories, and reels.
Here's what happened: I uploaded my branding to Manus and asked it to create an Instagram carousel. It did everything. The graphic, the caption, the hashtags, the posting. All from one place.
I'm not exaggerating when I say this removed my biggest friction point with Instagram. The whole cycle of downloading photos, "wait, where did I save that?", then uploading to a scheduler or doing it natively on my phone used to kill my momentum. Now it's just: describe what I want, review, post. Done. If you're on Manus, connect your Instagram and try it. If you're not on Manus yet, this might be the reason to start.
2. Google Vids Just Got a Big Upgrade
Google Vids, their AI video editor, keeps getting better. The latest update adds support for Veo 3.1 (Google's newest video AI, which generates 8-second clips) and Lyria 3 for music and sound effects. Every user gets 10 free Veo video generations per month.
You can now use plain language prompts to direct the AI-generated avatars in your videos. Tell them to interact with a product, hold a prop, change their outfit, or stand in a new background. All through text. Google says the avatars stay consistent even as you change scenes and directions.
You can also now publish finished videos directly to YouTube from inside Google Vids. No downloading, no re-uploading. The exported videos default to private, so you can review everything before making it public. They also added a Chrome extension for screen recording with audio.
I love Google Vids the same way I love NotebookLM. Quietly keeps getting better without making a fuss about it. If you haven't tried it yet, go play with it. You'll be surprised what you can make in minutes.
3. Meta Launches Prescription AI Glasses (Plus New AI Features)
Yes, the prescription feature is cool (you already could add prescription lenses, but these are the first models built from the ground up for all-day prescription wear), but it’s the software updates that caught my attention:
Nutrition tracking: Take a photo of your meal or just tell it what you're eating. Meta AI logs the nutrition details and adds them to a food log in the Meta AI app. Over time it gives you personalized insights.
WhatsApp summaries: Say "Hey Meta, catch me up on my messages" and get a summary of your group chats. You can ask follow-up questions like "What did Jamie suggest for dinner?" All processed on-device.
Neural Handwriting: Write with your finger on any surface to reply to messages silently. Coming to iMessage too.
I already have the older Meta glasses and I love them. The new glasses with these software updates, plus the hardware upgrades that allow you to see a monitor on the lens of your glasses (like a teleprompter!), will likely get me to upgrade.
4. Claude Code Gets Computer Use
Last week we covered Computer Use for Cowork. Now Claude Code, the developer version, has it too.
This means developers can ask Claude to build something, then have Claude open the app, click through the interface, find bugs, fix them, and verify the fix. All from the command line. In one prompt, Claude can write the code, compile it, launch it, test it visually, and patch whatever breaks.
This is developer-focused. If you're not building software, the Cowork version from last week is the one that matters to you. But it's worth knowing that Claude keeps expanding what it can do on your actual computer, not just inside a chat window.
Mac only. Pro and Max plans. Requires Claude Code v2.1.85 or later.
LOG YOUR CLAUDE COWORK SESSIONS (YOUR FUTURE SELF WILL THANK YOU)
If you're using Claude Cowork, run this prompt at the end of every work session. It creates a markdown file (.md) saved directly to your working folder that captures what you decided, what came up, and what's next.
This does two things. First, it gives you a running log of everything you've worked on, organized by date. Second, it saves your usage limits. Long conversations get expensive fast in Claude because it re-reads the full chat history with every new message. Logging and starting fresh keeps your costs down.
At the end of your session, paste this:
Summarize this session into a new note called 'Session Log - [Today's Date]'in my [Your Project Folder Name] folder. Include: key decisions, ideas generated, open questions, and next actions. Format as bullet points under each heading.
Tip: Set up a keyboard shortcut so you don't have to type this every time. On Mac, go to System Settings > Keyboard > Text Replacements. On Windows, use a free tool like Espanso. Pick a short trigger like ";log" and have it expand into the full prompt.
The next cohort of our CAIVA certification starts April 16. It's a 4-week live program that teaches virtual assistants how to actually use AI in client work.
What's inside:
4 live training modules (AI foundations, workflow automation, premium service packages, client integration)
Hands-on templates, prompts, and SOPs you can use right away
5 ready-to-sell AI service packages with pricing and scripts
Real-time coaching and a private community
Certification you can put on your website and LinkedIn
If you're a VA who wants to stand out, or you have a VA on your team who would level up from this, take a look at caiva.net.
If any of this made you think differently about how you want to work with AI, hit reply and let me know. I read every message. Your questions shape what I cover next.
Have a great weekend,
Founder, Front Row AI Club PS. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up to get it in your inbox.
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