Don't be fooled by OpenClaw (Clawdbot) hype anymore! It's powerful, but not your starting point.

Crypto KOL Miles Deutscher Finds OpenClaw Powerful but Not the Best Starting Point After Some Time Use

He recommends beginners start with tools like Claude Code and Notion Agents, upgrading only after understanding their needs. This article is based on Miles Deutscher’s writing, organized, translated, and authored by PANews.

(Previous summary: Bitcoin gets banned: The story of Lobster OpenClaw’s break with crypto)

(Additional background: Sam Altman personally recruits! OpenClaw founder joins OpenAI, AI agents to become core products soon)

Table of Contents

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• Behind-the-scenes secrets behind the hype
• Latest announcements (and why they change everything)
  • 1. Claude Code – Remote Control (Mobile)
  • 2. Claude Cowork Business Update
  • 3. Notion Agents
  • 4. Manus / n8n / Zapier
• Unmentioned scalability issues
• Advantages of OpenClaw
• So, what should you do?
• Summary

OpenClaw (formerly Clawdbot) is an open-source autonomous AI agent tool developed by Peter Steinberger. It exploded in popularity early 2026, especially after its name was finalized, becoming one of the hottest projects in the global AI scene. But is OpenClaw really user-friendly and suitable for most people? That’s worth questioning. Crypto KOL Miles Deutscher, after using OpenClaw for a while, believes it’s not ideal for most users and suggests beginners start with other tools. Here are the details.

I know the title sounds ironic, since much of my AI workflow involves building with OpenClaw. I post about it weekly. I even made a series called “Building My AI Team Day X.”

But I have to tell you: most people shouldn’t use it.

Before criticizing me, hear me out. This isn’t an anti-OpenClaw article, but a critique of hype. Too many content creators praise OpenClaw for traffic without revealing the truth: for most people, there are better alternatives now.

And in the past week, the landscape has changed dramatically.

Behind-the-scenes secrets behind the hype

Here’s the real experience of 90% of OpenClaw users:

You see those viral tweets. You buy a Mac Mini. You install OpenClaw. You spend a weekend configuring proxies. You feel like a genius. About two days later, you realize you have no idea what to automate.

Your workflow stalls. Your proxy setup encounters errors. You spend more time debugging than working. Now, you have a machine worth over $1,000, but can only do work that a $20/month subscription service could handle.

I’ve seen this happen dozens of times in DMs and with friends/employees. The problem isn’t the tool itself, but the approach.

But no one in the OpenClaw community notices this.

While they’re busy debugging proxies, Anthropic, Notion, and others have released announcements that completely change the game.

Latest announcements (and why they change everything)

In recent weeks, a series of announcements have truly shifted perceptions about whether OpenClaw is suitable for most people. Here’s a breakdown:

1. Claude Code – Remote Control (Mobile)

Anthropic launched a mobile version of Claude Code called “Remote Control.” Just scan a QR code on your device to control Claude Code via iPhone or Android.

No need for Mac Mini, VPS, servers, or terminal windows on desktop. Just send tasks from your phone, and Claude will build in the background.

A major advantage of OpenClaw is its accessibility via platforms like Telegram, WhatsApp, Discord—now, remote control solves this for many users.

2. Claude Cowork Business Update

If Claude Code is for developers, Cowork is for everyone. It’s a GUI-based intelligent assistant capable of real work: answering questions, executing multi-step tasks within your existing tools.

Recently, they added integrations with Slack, Figma, Canva, Box, and Clay. They also launched plugins for finance, HR, design, and private equity.

After Anthropic released a finance plugin, a software sector ETF dropped 6% in a single day. On Feb 20, after Claude Code Security launched, cybersecurity stocks plummeted that afternoon.

This shows how much the market values these products.

For most people, OpenClaw’s core tasks—research, file management, content workflows, data analysis—are already covered by Cowork, which meets about 80% of their needs.

3. Notion Agents

This feature was underrated but shouldn’t be—especially for Notion users like me.

Notion restructured its entire AI system into autonomous agents. These aren’t chatbots; they can autonomously perform multi-step workflows over 20 minutes, with memory. They connect to Slack, Google Drive, GitHub, and can be scheduled or triggered.

For knowledge work—project management, meeting prep, research, content planning, database management—Notion Agents outperform most OpenClaw setups, with near-zero entry barriers.

If your main goal with OpenClaw is “manage my business and automate workflows,” then Notion Agents are a solid entry point.

4. Manus / n8n / Zapier

I won’t dwell on these tools here (more in-depth content coming later). But it’s clear: for basic automation—email scraping, web searches, SOP generation, lead enrichment—these tools are sufficient.

If you haven’t maximized these tools’ capabilities, you probably don’t need a Mac Mini yet.

Unmentioned scalability issues

OpenClaw’s community overlooks a scalability problem.

Claude Code runs infinitely in the cloud—more compute, parallel tasks, better performance—grows with your needs. OpenClaw runs on your hardware. When hardware hits performance limits, your only option is to buy another Mac Mini.

Not just scalability—Claude Code integrates directly with GitHub, VS Code, Xcode via MCP. They recently added security scans, lifecycle hooks, hot reloads, device session switching. The ecosystem expands weekly.

For most, cloud-based tools are more practical.

Advantages of OpenClaw

But OpenClaw still has unmatched advantages:

• Complete local control. Your data never leaves your machine. Critical for sensitive business info, client data, proprietary workflows.
• Complex multi-agent orchestration. Running five communicating, task-distributing agents as a coordinated system—something cloud tools can’t do yet. This is where OpenClaw truly leads (and why many still use it).
• Custom agent features. SOUL files, detailed configs, deep understanding of your business background—level of customization not available elsewhere.
• 24/7 autonomous operation. Once set up, your agents can run continuously without subscription costs eating into profits. Long-term, if well-prepared, OpenClaw can be more economical.
• True ownership. You own the entire tech stack, especially if running local models.

If you’ve invested time building a solid OpenClaw environment with proven use cases, you’re still in a good position.

But given the industry’s ongoing updates, my personal view is:

It’s a great tool, but not the only one. I use Claude Code for specific models/workflows, Notion Agents for automation, and GPT for strategy.

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution. The best approach is to use specific tools for specific tasks. OpenClaw is especially useful for automating data scraping and autonomous product iteration—personal choice.

So, what should you do?

If you’re starting from zero, here are my honest recommendations:

First: Start with Claude (choose Cowork or Code based on your skill level). Get familiar with what AI agents can do in your workflow. I believe this is the best starting point for 99% of people.

Second: Add Notion Agents and/or Manus/n8n for knowledge work and basic automation. Test what’s worth automating and what’s not. A low-risk way to experiment with new workflows.

Third: When you find these tools insufficient, then turn to OpenClaw—because now you know exactly what you need it for.

Most people jump straight to step three and wonder why OpenClaw doesn’t work well.

Summary

OpenClaw is excellent for some, and definitely worth trying if you want to stay at the forefront of AI.

But hype has led many to believe that buying hardware and configuring agents is the only way to leverage AI. That’s not true. The right approach is to first identify what needs automation, test with easy-to-use tools, and only upgrade to OpenClaw when truly necessary.

I still use OpenClaw daily and believe in it. But pretending it’s everyone’s starting point is misleading.

Start with the tools above, get comfortable, then build your machine.

That’s the correct order. Most people get it backwards.