Anthropic says Claude subscriptions will no longer support OpenClaw because it puts an 'outsized strain' on systems

Claude users have been using their subscription to deploy AI agents with OpenClaw. Anthropic said that such usage is placing an "outsized strain on our systems." OpenClaw's creator told Business Insider that "it'd be a loss" to cut users off. What is OpenClaw's function? Why is OpenClaw popular among AI users? How do AI platforms handle demand surges? How does OpenClaw impact Claude users? What alternatives do Claude users have now? Anthropic is cutting off support for the popular AI agent platform OpenClaw from Claude subscriptions, as it grapples with soaring demand for its chatbot.

Boris Cherny, head of Claude Code, said in an X post on Friday evening that Claude subscriptions will no longer support third-party tools like OpenClaw starting at 12 p.m. PT on Saturday. Users will instead need to pay through discounted "extra usage bundles" tied to their Claude login or use a separate Claude API key through Anthropic's developer platform, Cherny said.

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The Anthropic executive said the move was driven by the compute demand Anthropic is seeing from users.

Claude had surged in popularity in recent weeks, briefly topping the US Apple App Store in March. Last week, Anthropic had to adjust Claude usage limits for subscribers due to the demand.

"We've been working hard to meet the increase in demand for Claude, and our subscriptions weren't built for the usage patterns of these third-party tools. Capacity is a resource we manage thoughtfully and we are prioritizing our customers using our products and API," Cherny wrote in the X post.

An Anthropic spokesperson told Business Insider in a statement that using Claude subscriptions with third-party tools is against the company's terms of service and that those tools put an "outsized strain on our systems."

Peter Steinberger, the creator of OpenClaw, said on X that he and Dave Morin, a board member of the OpenClaw foundation, tried to "talk sense into Anthropic" and that they delayed Anthropic's move for a week.

"We told Anthropic that we have many users who only signed up for their sub because of OpenClaw and that it'd be a loss if they cut them off," Steinberger told Business Insider in a text message. "Now they try to bury the news on a Friday night."

OpenClaw is a fast-rising AI agent platform that connects to platforms like Claude, enabling users to deploy personal AI assistants. Those assistants can then carry out tasks on other apps and workflows.

The popularity of OpenClaw has sparked an AI agent craze. Some users have deployed AI assistants to manage their entire day-to-day workflow. One founder said she built nine AI agents to handle administrative work and personal household logistics.

Anthropic is not alone in putting restrictions on third-party tools.

Google recently took action against Gemini CLI users who use third-party tools; although the move was not framed as a capacity issue, it was more of a violation of the terms of service.