Lesson 1. What is OpenClaw and Why Do You Need It#

Why this lesson?#

You’ve probably already heard about ChatGPT, Claude, and other AI assistants. You go to a website, type a question — and get an answer. Convenient? Yes. But there are limitations: everything only works in the browser, you can’t message the AI in your favorite messenger, and you have no control over how the assistant behaves.

OpenClaw solves these problems. Let’s figure out what it is.

What is OpenClaw?#

OpenClaw is a personal AI assistant that runs on your computer. You install it once, and after that you can communicate with artificial intelligence:

💬 directly in Telegram, WhatsApp, Discord, Slack, and other messengers
🌐 through a web interface in your browser (like a personal ChatGPT)
🗣️ by voice (on macOS, iOS, Android)

In simple terms: OpenClaw is a “bridge” between you and AI. It takes your message from Telegram, sends it to a smart model (for example, Claude from Anthropic or GPT from OpenAI), gets a response, and sends it back to you — right in the chat.

How is OpenClaw different from ChatGPT in the browser?#

	ChatGPT in the browser	OpenClaw
Where it works	On the openai.com website	On your computer
How to communicate	Only through the website	Telegram, WhatsApp, Discord, Slack, web, and more
Assistant personality	Standard	You customize the name, character, and communication style yourself
AI model choice	Only GPT	Claude, GPT, and others — your choice
Data control	Data on OpenAI servers	Settings and history — on your computer
Tools	Limited	Can read files, run commands, search the internet

What can OpenClaw do?#

Here are a few examples of what you can do:

📱 Message AI in a messenger#

You open Telegram, write to the bot “Make a plan for the week” — and get a response right in the chat. No need to open any website.

🎭 Customize the personality#

Want the assistant to communicate formally? Or the opposite — friendly and with humor? You describe this in special files, and the assistant will behave exactly that way.

🔧 Work with files and commands#

OpenClaw can read files on your computer, create new ones, run commands — if you allow it. This is useful for automating tasks.

🧠 Remember context#

The assistant remembers what you talked about within a conversation and can refer to note files.

How does it work (simplified)?#

You write in Telegram
        ↓
   OpenClaw (on your computer) receives the message
        ↓
   Sends it to the AI model (Claude / GPT)
        ↓
   Gets a response
        ↓
   Sends the response back to you in Telegram

Gateway is the “heart” of OpenClaw. It’s a program that runs in the background on your computer and manages all connections: with messengers, with AI models, with tools.

Who is this for?#

OpenClaw is right for you if:

✅ You want to communicate with AI through Telegram or WhatsApp, not through a website
✅ You want to customize the assistant — give it a name, style, and rules
✅ It’s important to you that settings are stored on your machine, not somewhere in the cloud
✅ You’re willing to spend 15–20 minutes on installation (we’ll guide you step by step!)

Lesson summary#

OpenClaw is a personal AI assistant that runs on your computer.
It lets you communicate with AI through messengers (Telegram, WhatsApp, and others).
You choose the AI model (Claude, GPT) and customize the personality of the assistant.
OpenClaw is free, open-source software (MIT license).

In the next lesson, we’ll go over what you need to prepare before installing OpenClaw.