But while OpenClaw isn’t on everyone’s lips anymore, the arrival of its new and improved version serves as a reminder of how much it changed the game, ushering in an era of agentic AI that touches everything from ChatGPT Work and Claude Cowork to Google’s Gemini Spark and Nvidia’s own “claw”-inspired products.
As for OpenClaw 2.0 itself, the new release is billed as being much easier for first-time users, allowing it to quickly check which AI models and services you have on hand, including ChatGPT or Claude subscriptions, API models, and local LLMs.
The OpenAI-backed OpenClaw (which continues to be both open-source and free) now skips over “a lot” of the most confusion customization steps in favor of helping users to “get to a first conversation faster,” as well as to “finish setting up their Claw by talking to it.”
The OpenClaw browser is now a “first-class experience,” according to OpenClaw’s press release, while several of the security holes that — quite rightly — scared off new users have been fixed. Security credentials are now masked so they never appear in chat, for example, while enhanced workspace restrictions make it harder for agents to wander all over your system. Perhaps most importantly, third-party plugins on the ClawHub must now show you what they do and where they come from before you install them.
But while the new OpenClaw promises to be both easier and more secure, it’s still a long way from being as safe (well, relatively safe) as ChatGPT. Despite its new security features, OpenClaw still gets practically unfettered access to your PC or Mac, allowing it to fire off shell commands, access your files, and snap screenshots. A warning during the onboarding process makes it plain: “Only enable OpenClaw if you understand the risks and trust the prompts and integrations you use.”
Personally, I still wouldn’t recommend OpenClaw for everyday AI users, and I remain hesitant to install it myself.