ok the simple answer is yes, sometimes.
Now if you have time or just like to watch as your troops massacre the enemy with no losses then Manual is the way to go.
If you are pressed for time or don't feel like spending hours to do the battles AND are willing to accept more losses than you MIGHT in manual battle then by all means go full AUTO.
Yes you lose more troops in Auto but you can minimize that with the fire chicken[Fire Phoenix] and by placing Draven Armorers and other Battle boosters. And lastly by using all the same troops against your enemy or at most 2 sets that cover 4 out of the 5 enemies
As you can see in the pics
4 of the 5 are covered and will be killed easy and the 5th is toast
next are two pics showing a mixed battle using 2 and covering all 5
Notice the yellow shows the uncovered enemy
Hope this helps