'The biggest AI opportunity is not replacing people': How OpenClaw is empowering the next wave of successful SMBs

Agility is the ultimate competitive advantage for small businesses across the globe. While business behemoths struggle with clunky legacy systems, SMBs and entrepreneurs can pivot quickly.

So, it is little surprise that since its launch in November 2025, many small businesses and entrepreneurs have been finding new and exciting ways to use OpenClaw to their benefit.

I caught up with Saulius Lazaravičius to get his thoughts on how forward-thinking entrepreneurs and businesses can get set up with and start making the most of OpenClaw. As VP of Product at Hostinger, Saulius is perfectly positioned to offer insight into how entrepreneurs can move past the AI hype and start building automated systems with OpenClaw.

Here is what he had to say:

Interview with:

Interview with:

Saulius Lazaravičius

Saulius enjoys building products that make people more efficient online, helping them spend more time on the things they love and leaving all the rest for technology to solve. As a Vice President of Product at Hostinger, he oversees Web Hosting, Managed WordPress, Managed OpenClaw, Business Email, and Email Marketing products, and WebPro Experience.

Interview by:

Interview by:

Owain Williams

Owain is the SMB Editor at TechRadar Pro, covering topics ranging from website builders and web hosting to small business and productivity. Throughout his career, Owain has worked for and run his own successful website and marketing agencies. Owain has interviewed key executives from top website builders, including Hostinger, Wix, Squarespace, GoDaddy, and Webflow.

For the uninitiated, what is OpenClaw, and why has Hostinger chosen to support it?

OpenClaw is like a personal AI helper available everywhere that is always online, that can carry out tasks for you.

Instead of only answering questions in a chat window, it can connect to tools you already use, such as WhatsApp, Slack, Telegram, browsers, and web apps. That means it can help with things like replying to messages, automating repetitive work, checking information online, or supporting customers.

We chose to offer OpenClaw as a 1-click managed service because we saw a gap between what people want from AI agents and how difficult they were to set up and manage. For beginners, getting started was too technical, especially taking into account hosting, configuration, security, API keys, and ongoing maintenance.

Making OpenClaw easier to use has a clear effect. Today, it is the most popular AI app among our clients, with tens of thousands of new installations each week.

How does OpenClaw differ from standard chatbots like ChatGPT?

ChatGPT is mainly something you talk to. You ask a question, it answers, and the whole interaction happens inside one chat window.

OpenClaw is closer to an AI worker that can keep running and take action across tools. It can sit inside messaging apps, automate repeating tasks, control browsers and web tools, and manage workflows even when you are not chatting with it.

Simply put, a chatbot helps you think and respond; an AI agent like OpenClaw does things for you.

What is the simplest path for a beginner to deploy their first OpenClaw agent?

The simplest path is our 1-click OpenClaw. A beginner does not need to manually configure hosting, set up external AI accounts, generate API keys, or install the app from scratch if they choose the Managed OpenClaw solution. They can launch OpenClaw instantly, with hosting, security, AI credits, and the application already in place.

Once deployed, the user can start connecting OpenClaw to the tools they use and begin with a simple use case, such as a Telegram assistant or a basic customer support bot.

What technical prerequisites (such as specific hPanel configurations or API keys)should a user have before they start their OpenClaw journey?

With our 1-click OpenClaw setup, the technical prerequisites are minimal. We take care of the deployment, configuration, strong security key generation, DDoS protection, malware scanning, backups, and version upgrades. Customers can buy nexos.ai credits from us and choose from top AI models, including OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google, directly inside OpenClaw.

The main thing users should have is a clear first use case and enough AI credits to power the agent’s work.

What type of hosting does OpenClaw require and why?

Some people try to run OpenClaw on their own hardware, for example, a Mac mini, and keep it plugged in at home or in the office. But it’s not the most reliable or practical setup.

First, there’s the upfront cost of the device itself. Second, OpenClaw is meant to be an always-on AI agent, so it needs to stay online 24/7. If your Mac mini loses power, disconnects from the internet, needs an update, or restarts, your agent stops working too.

That is why OpenClaw is better suited to stable, always-on hosting. It needs an environment with continuous uptime, public access, security, backups, and enough resources to keep workflows running without manual maintenance. So instead of managing a machine, users can focus on what their OpenClaw agent actually does.

What are the most common use cases for OpenClaw you are seeing for small businesses and personal users?

For small businesses, OpenClaw helps save time and money by handing repetitive, manual tasks to an AI agent and automating everyday admin work. For personal users, it is mostly about saving time and increasing productivity.

To be more specific, here’s what small businesses and personal users use OpenClaw for:

• Running personal AI assistants in WhatsApp, Slack, or Telegram
• Summarizing incoming emails
• Collecting sales leads, spotting opportunities, and sending follow-up messages
• Running customer support bots
• Checking websites, dashboards, or online tools for updates
• Finding the right apartment to rent or buy
• Pulling live data like stock, crypto, or currency prices and triggering trading actions

What are some smart ways business owners can be using OpenClaw to drive revenue growth?

The biggest AI opportunity is not replacing people. It is giving small teams more coverage, faster response times, and fewer dropped balls.

A few strong examples:

• Fast responses. An OpenClaw agent can help answer common questions in messaging channels before a potential customer goes elsewhere.
• Better lead handling. An AI agent can ask a few basic questions, understand what the customer needs, and send the right leads to the right person.
• New sales opportunities. It can collect information from public or relevant websites and sources the business uses, then help identify opportunities and start the sales process.
• Follow-ups. It can remind shoppers about abandoned carts, unfinished bookings, or messages that never got a reply.
• Less admin work. An AI agent can summarize emails, prepare replies, update records, check bookings or orders, and create simple reports.

Although OpenClaw is open-source, it isn’t free to run. What costs should people be aware of?

People should be aware of a few main areas:

• Hosting. The agent needs an always-on environment to stay available, plus storage for data, logs, and backups. Costs vary, but hosting can start from as little as $5.99/month.
• Security and maintenance. Updates, security patches, and backups also need to be handled, either by the hosting provider or by the user.
• AI credits. Unlike general-purpose AI tools, where one monthly subscription covers most use, OpenClaw agents use credits each time they perform tasks. Costs depend on the model you choose, how often the agent runs, and how heavily it’s used.
• Scale. More users, automations, messages, and complex workflows usually mean higher usage and higher running costs over time.

Several industry leaders have raised security concerns about the access AI agents enjoy. What steps should users take to protect themselves and their data when using OpenClaw?

AI agents are useful because they can connect to tools and accounts, but that access should be managed carefully. The safest approach is to start small: give OpenClaw only the permissions it needs, avoid connecting sensitive systems too early, and review what the agent is doing, especially in public, customer-facing, or business-critical workflows.

Users should also protect access keys, keep OpenClaw updated, and run it in an isolated, secure environment. With Hostinger’s setup, each agent runs separately, while updates, backups, DDoS protection, and malware scanning help reduce the maintenance overhead.

In simple terms, treat OpenClaw like a new employee: give it a clear job, limit its access, monitor important actions, and expand permissions only when needed.