OpenClaw, an AI agent developed by Austrian programmer Peter Steinberger, has become increasingly popular in China for enhancing workplace cost-efficiency.
The system enables large language models to operate computers autonomously, controlling files, executing commands and interacting through messaging applications such as WhatsApp and Telegram. Li Mengnan, a legal counsel specializing in overseas expansion for small and medium-sized enterprises, said the adoption of OpenClaw has increased her team's efficiency in legal document processing by 60 percent at manageable costs.
"A mainframe and a monitor cost a little over 5,000 yuan (about 723.47 U.S. dollars). After installation, we need to use the large language model every month. So far, the cost has averaged about 300 to 400 yuan per month. Once the entire link runs smoothly, we will need stronger AI inference performance, which may raise the monthly cost to about 2,000 to 3,000 yuan," she said.
Beyond improving company-wide efficiency, OpenClaw also assists individual employees.
"Compared with the large language models I used before, OpenClaw is not just giving me outputs, it can directly help complete practical tasks. I feel that it is like a real employee, improving every day and able to participate very well in our daily work," said Zeng Xia, a staff member of a startup incubation community.
The growing demand has driven up installation business. Li An, an AI large language model product manager, began providing on-site OpenClaw installation part-time last month.
"I'm here to install OpenClaw. The software has become incredibly popular lately. Over the weekend alone, I handled over a dozen orders, working almost nonstop except for mealtimes. Basic installation costs 500 yuan (per machine). For clients with customized business needs, the price is higher, ranging from several thousand yuan," he said.
As interest in OpenClaw rises, security concerns are also mounting.
China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has warned that OpenClaw could pose security risks under default or improper configurations, exposing users to cyberattacks and data breaches.
China sees rapid adoption of OpenClaw AI agent
