OpenClaw

In one sentenceA popular free, open-source personal AI agent you run on your own computer or server and chat with through WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack and similar apps.

What it means

OpenClaw (earlier called Clawdbot, then Moltbot) is a Harness that turns an LLM into an always-on assistant. You install it on a machine you control, connect the model of your choice (Claude, ChatGPT, open models, or many at once through OpenRouter), and then message it like a coworker from the chat apps you already use.

It can browse the web, read and write files, run commands, remember things about you, run tasks on a schedule, and learn new abilities through add-on skills. Its design is "gateway first": one hub that connects your model to all your messaging channels and tools.

How to use it

• Typical uses: a morning brief sent to your phone, tracking goals or habits by text, monitoring news on your industry, drafting replies, keeping a running to-do list.
• Run it on a separate computer or a small cloud server, not the machine that holds your most sensitive files.
• Give it its own accounts and limited keys, set spending limits on your model provider, and only install skills from sources you trust. An agent with access to your messages can be tricked by Prompt Injection.

Related terms

Harness Hermes Agent Grok Bot OpenRouter AI Agent