Anthropic: Claude subscription service will no longer cover third-party tools such as OpenClaw

AI company Anthropic announced that it will ban access to third-party tools through its Claude subscription service, including the open source project OpenClaw, starting at 15:00 EST on April 4. The new regulations require that relevant functions can only be used based on additional packages or APIs.<br /> This adjustment means that a large number of developers and teams that rely on OpenClaw to build automated workflows will shift from the original fixed subscription cost model to a pay-as-you-go system with no upper limit, and the overall cost of use will increase significantly. Some developers say that the original cost of usage, which was about US$20 per month, may soar to hundreds or even thousands of dollars.<br /> The market generally believes that the move is related to OpenClaw founder Peter Steinberger's recent joining of OpenAI. At the same time, Anthropic is accelerating the promotion of its own tool ecosystem, including Claude's native integration solutions, to replace third-party tool chains.<br /> It is worth noting that Anthropic has previously gradually tightened third-party access through technical restrictions, service term updates and functional substitutions. This policy is regarded as the "final blockade" and will be extended to more tools.<br /> Industry analysis pointed out that this incident reflects the intensifying trend of "ecological tightening" on AI platforms, and leading manufacturers are strengthening control through vertical integration. At the same time, the developer ecosystem is facing cost uncertainty and rising risks of platform dependence, or further pushing some users to move to more open alternatives.