Anthropic separates Claude subscriptions from third-party tool usage
Anthropic has notified users that Claude Pro and Team subscriptions will no longer cover usage through third-party tools like OpenClaw, effective April 4 at 12pm PT.
What's changing
Starting tomorrow, your Claude subscription will work only for:
- Claude AI
- Claude Code
- Claude cowork
OpenClaw and other third-party harnesses now require "extra usage," which is pay-as-you-go and billed separately from your subscription. You need to enable extra usage in your account settings to keep using Claude through OpenClaw.
This change starts with OpenClaw but will apply to all third-party harnesses soon.
Reasoning and impact
Anthropic states that OpenClaw and similar tools put "outsized strain" on their systems, and they want to prioritize capacity for their own products.
If you're running OpenClaw with Claude as your main model, this effectively doubles your cost overnight. Users who receive the email can claim AI credits.
📖 Read the full source: r/openclaw
👀 See Also
Claude Cowork Now Available on Windows with Local File Access and Task Scheduling
Claude Cowork, previously exclusive to macOS, is now accessible on Windows devices. The desktop application requires a paid Claude plan, handles larger tasks with direct local file access, and allows scheduling tasks to run automatically.
YC-Bench Benchmark Tests LLMs as Startup CEOs, GLM-5 Shows Strong Cost-Efficiency
Researchers created YC-Bench, a benchmark where LLMs act as CEOs of simulated startups over a year, managing employees, contracts, and payroll. GLM-5 achieved $1.21M average final funds at $7.62 per run, performing within 5% of Claude Opus 4.6 which cost $86 per run.
Claude Research Preview Adds Direct Computer Control for Task Automation
Anthropic has released a research preview where Claude can directly control your computer to complete tasks like opening apps, navigating browsers, and filling spreadsheets. Available for Pro and Max users on macOS, it works through Claude Cowork and Claude Code with mobile pairing required.
Weekly Multimodal AI Roundup: Holotron-12B, Nemotron Omni, GlyphPrinter, and More
This week's multimodal AI highlights include Holotron-12B for computer-use tasks, NVIDIA's Nemotron Omni models integrating language+vision+voice, GlyphPrinter for accurate text rendering in image generation, and several open-source projects for video enhancement, 3D segmentation, and multi-agent systems.