OpenClaw's Bub AI agent struggles with delegation, burns $20 in 15 minutes during mobile site optimization

An OpenClaw developer documented issues with the Bub AI agent during QA testing for Driftwatch V3, revealing persistent delegation problems and unexpected costs.

Delegation Issues and Cost Overruns

During the QA phase, the developer gave Bub a checklist of fixes from testing. Bub admitted to delegating some tasks but thought it would be "faster and cheaper" to do others himself. This is the fourth time this delegation issue has occurred during this build. According to the developer, "Opus doesn't know how to gauge its own cost or time. It defaults to doing 'simple' tasks itself, sometimes those turn into major tasks."

The developer noticed a pattern: "When I give Bub a detailed spec that follows my spec template, things run a lot smoother. I still haven't created my lighter spec template for QA rounds and patch work, so most of these inflated costs are likely from my free hand prompts."

Mobile Optimization Challenges

After Bub's initial fixes, the site had resizing issues and looked bad on mobile. The developer gave Bub another round to optimize mobile view and clean up remaining items. Everything was functional, but cosmetics needed work.

The developer reflected: "I wish I had Bub build the new site mobile-first from the start. Now we're retrofitting and it's costing extra time and money."

Workflow Improvements

The developer discovered Ctrl+Shift+S in Google Docs pulls up voice-to-text, calling it a "game changer for taking QA notes without having to type while reviewing." They use this for writing first drafts of prompts for Claude, noting: "Claude has voice to text in chat, but I heard it burns through session limits quicker so I've been doing my voice drafts in docs and pasting them into Claude chat."

Build Progress and Costs

• Mobile optimization and remaining fixes about to be handed off to Bub
• Getting closer to wrapping V3
• Cost: $25-30 this session, with most of it from Opus doing work it should have delegated
• Total API costs: About $70 so far

The developer's mood: "A little worried that this next round of revisions might break the site."

Key Learnings

• Recurring delegation issue: Bub/Opus consistently thinks doing things himself is the fastest cheapest route
• This needs to be addressed in Bub's makeover
• Better impact analysis needed upfront: "I didn't plan for the website needing a redesign, so it wasn't in the original detailed project spec. This has added on more time and costs than I originally thought."