Explainer

What is OpenClaw?

OpenClaw is a free, open-source AI assistant that runs on your own computer or server. It hooks up models like Claude, GPT or Gemini to your files, your browser and chat apps such as WhatsApp, Slack and Telegram, so you can ask it to do things, not just answer questions. An Austrian developer named Peter Steinberger started it in November 2025. It went through a few names before it settled on OpenClaw in January 2026.

For a manager: think of it as an assistant you message from your phone that can actually check a file, send a reminder or pull a report. The catch is that it runs on a machine you set up and look after, like any other piece of kit in the office.