OpenClaw went viral in early 2026. The promise: a 24/7 AI assistant that lives on your phone via Telegram and actually does things. After 30 days of daily use, here's an honest assessment.
What I Used It For
- Daily morning briefings via Telegram
- Email triage and response drafting
- Meeting note summarization
- Expense tracking (receipt photos)
- Research and price comparisons
- Writing drafts (emails, posts, documents)
- Reminders and scheduling
What Actually Works Well
Telegram Integration Is the Killer Feature
Having an AI assistant in Telegram — the app I already use — is genuinely game-changing. No need to open a separate app or website. Just message your bot like you'd message a friend.
Memory Is Underrated
After a week, OpenClaw knew my work schedule, client preferences, and communication style. By week three, conversations felt natural — I didn't need to re-explain context.
Morning Briefings Save 20+ Minutes
My configured 8 AM briefing replaced checking email, calendar, weather, and news separately. One glance at one Telegram message, and I know my day.
It's Surprisingly Good at Drafting
"Draft a polite decline for this meeting" or "write a follow-up email for Client X" — the output quality is consistently good. I edit maybe 10% of what it generates.
What Doesn't Work Well
Setup Is Still Painful (Self-Hosted)
Even as a technical user, the initial setup took me 2 hours. Docker configuration, Telegram pairing, gateway tokens, reverse proxy — each step has potential for things to go wrong.
Solution: Managed hosting like ClawTank eliminates this entirely.
It's Not Magic
OpenClaw doesn't read your mind. You need to actively tell it things, set up routines, and invest time in the first week to get value. It's more like training a new assistant than plugging in a solution.
API Costs Are Hard to Predict
My first week cost $45 in API usage because I was chatting a lot with Opus. After switching to Sonnet and setting token limits, I got it down to $18/month.
Occasional Hallucinations
Like all LLMs, OpenClaw sometimes makes things up. For critical information (numbers, dates, facts), always verify. It's an assistant, not an oracle.
Not Great at Real-Time Monitoring
"Monitor this stock price" or "watch for this email" — the proactive features work, but they're not instantaneous. There's always a delay between checks.
The Numbers
| Metric | Result |
|---|---|
| Daily usage | 15-25 messages/day |
| Time saved | ~45 min/day |
| Monthly API cost | $18 (Sonnet 4.5) |
| Monthly hosting | ClawTank subscription |
| Setup time | 1 minute (ClawTank) |
| Satisfaction | 8/10 |
Who Should Use OpenClaw?
Yes, if you:
- Want an AI assistant available 24/7 on Telegram
- Value persistent memory across conversations
- Have repetitive communication tasks (email, messaging)
- Want proactive notifications and briefings
- Are willing to invest a week of "training" time
No, if you:
- Only need occasional AI help (ChatGPT is simpler)
- Don't use messaging apps regularly
- Need 100% accurate information (no LLM delivers this)
- Aren't willing to learn how to prompt effectively
Compared to Alternatives
| vs ChatGPT | OpenClaw wins on: memory, Telegram, 24/7, proactive |
|---|---|
| vs Lindy | OpenClaw wins on: cost, privacy, customization |
| vs Nothing | OpenClaw saves ~45 min/day for ~$20/month |
The Verdict
OpenClaw is worth it if you commit to using it daily. The first week requires effort — setting up routines, teaching it about your life, learning to prompt well. But after that, it becomes genuinely indispensable.
The biggest barrier used to be setup complexity. With ClawTank, that's gone — deploy in under 1 minute and start the "training" phase immediately.
Rating: 8/10 — Loses 2 points for occasional hallucinations and the learning curve. Gains everything else for being the most useful AI tool in my daily workflow.