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5 min read
February 15, 2026

What is OpenClaw? Complete Guide 2026

OpenClaw is an open-source personal AI assistant that you can self-host or run managed. Learn what makes it different from ChatGPT, Claude, and other AI tools.

MyOpenClaw Team

What is OpenClaw? Complete Guide 2026

OpenClaw is revolutionizing how we interact with AI assistants. Unlike cloud-only solutions like ChatGPT or Claude, OpenClaw gives you complete control over your AI assistant.

Key Features

1. Self-Hosted or Managed

You can run OpenClaw on your own hardware, a VPS, or use a managed service like MyOpenClaw.cloud. Your choice, your data.

2. Bring Your Own AI

Use any AI provider: Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Groq, Mistral, or even local models with Ollama. Switch providers anytime without losing your setup.

3. Multi-Channel Integration

Connect OpenClaw to WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, and more. Your AI assistant meets you where you already communicate.

4. Persistent Memory

Unlike ChatGPT which forgets between sessions, OpenClaw remembers context across conversations. It truly becomes your assistant over time.

5. Skills & Automation

Install skills from ClawHub to extend functionality: web search, calendar integration, code execution, and hundreds more.

Why Choose OpenClaw?

FeatureChatGPTClaudeOpenClaw Self-hostable❌❌✅ Bring your own AI❌❌✅ Persistent memoryLimitedLimited✅ WhatsApp/Telegram❌❌✅ Open source❌❌✅

Getting Started

The easiest way to get started is with MyOpenClaw.cloud. Pick a username, choose a plan, and your AI assistant is live in 60 seconds.

For self-hosting, check out the official OpenClaw documentation.

openclawai-assistantgetting-startedguide

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Get your AI assistant running in 60 seconds.

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