The interviewer explained that they do not have 100% automation and manual testing is the norm. How do you feel about this?

Complete automation of testing is often impossible and impractical. Manual testing is an important part of the process, especially for checking UX, visual elements, non-standard scenarios, and new features where automation does not yet cover all cases. I view this normally and believe that a competent combination of automation and manual testing ensures product quality. Automation helps speed up regression testing and reduce routine workload, while manual testing helps identify subtle bugs and verify system behavior in real-world conditions.