Anthropic essentially bans OpenClaw from Claude by making subscribers pay extra
Why it matters: Starting April 4th, Claude subscribers must pay extra to use third-party tools like OpenClaw, impacting their monthly costs.
- Anthropic will no longer cover third-party tool usage, including OpenClaw, under Claude subscriptions starting April 4th at 3 PM ET, requiring a separate pay-as-you-go option (The Verge AI).
- Boris Cherny, an Anthropic Claude Code exec, stated the change is necessary to manage capacity and prioritize customers using Anthropic's own products and API, offering subscribers a one-time credit (The Verge AI).
- OpenClaw creator Peter Steinberger, now employed by OpenAI, and board member Dave Morin, tried to negotiate with Anthropic, only managing to delay the policy for a week (The Verge AI).
- OpenClaw had gained significant popularity for its efficiency in tasks like inbox management and flight check-ins, contributing to the demand strain on Claude's infrastructure (The Verge AI).
Anthropic is effectively banning third-party tools like OpenClaw from its Claude AI subscription plans starting April 4th, forcing users to pay extra for continued access via a new pay-as-you-go model or API keys. This move, confirmed by Anthropic's Boris Cherny and reported by The Verge and TechMeme, aims to manage the strain on Claude's infrastructure caused by high demand from these tools, despite OpenClaw's creator Peter Steinberger's attempts to delay the change.
