Anthropic blocks "Lobster": Starting from 3:00 PM on April 4th, Claude subscription account quotas cannot be used for OpenClaw.

Anthropic has announced adjustments to its subscription policy, separating the usage costs of third-party AI tools from subscription bundles. This move effectively raises the barrier for users to use Claude via tools such as OpenClaw.

Late Friday evening in the U.S. East time zone, an email from Anthropic to users shows that starting at 3:00 p.m. local time on April 4, Claude’s subscription credits will no longer cover the use of third-party tools such as OpenClaw.

Users who still want to access Claude through OpenClaw can continue logging into Claude, but they will need to use these tools through an additional usage plan (now available at a discount) or a Claude API key.

This policy change came suddenly. OpenClaw’s founder Peter Steinberger said that he and OpenClaw board member Dave Morin had tried to communicate with Anthropic:

In the end, all we managed to get was the adjustment delayed by one week.

Some netizens complained:

I’m a Claude premium member. Before, I used a $200 premium account on OpenAI. Guess what? I’m canceling my Claude subscription and planning to go back to OpenAI. Switching to Claude/Anthropic was such a bad decision.

But some netizens also expressed support, saying Claude member bundles weren’t meant to run “multi-agent” systems with resource consumption levels around 100 times the normal level:

The word “Sustainably” (sustainability) carries way too much meaning here. Let me be blunt: the $20-a-month subscription fee never was intended to let you run those “multi-agents” that consume around 100 times the normal amount. That loophole absolutely exists.

Demand management and sustainable growth

Anthropic Claude Code executive Boris Cherny explained the rationale for the adjustment:

We’ve been working to deal with the ever-growing demand for Claude, and our subscription plans were not designed for these third-party tools’ usage patterns. Capacity is the resource we need to manage carefully. We are prioritizing serving customers who use our own products and APIs.

Cherny wrote on social media that:

Affected users will receive one-time compensation credits in an amount equal to their monthly subscription fee. For more usage, they can purchase discounted bundles; for a full refund, users can submit a request via the link in the email the next day.

Third-party tool users can still continue using the relevant features through Claude API keys, but they will need to pay separately.

“The lobster” OpenClaw went viral earlier this year. This AI agent can handle tasks such as inbox management, calendar scheduling, and even flight check-in efficiently, accumulating a large base of active users.

However, this high-intensity usage pattern is clearly putting considerable pressure on Anthropic’s infrastructure, and ultimately triggered this tightening of the policy.

Worth noting is that OpenClaw’s founder Peter Steinberger has now joined OpenAI.

Against this backdrop, analysis suggests that Anthropic’s adjustment may also have another consideration: steering subscription users toward its own collaboration tool, Claude Cowork, and reducing reliance on third-party ecosystems with competitive relationships.

Business model shift, monetization opportunities beyond subscriptions

This policy adjustment marks a clear shift in Anthropic’s consumer-side business model.

By separating high-frequency, non-standard usage scenarios from fixed subscriptions and moving to usage-based billing, Anthropic is able to secure the core user experience while generating revenue that better matches the resource consumption of high-usage user groups.

The introduction of discounted usage bundles indicates that Anthropic is not aiming to completely drive away third-party tool users, but rather to find a balance between capacity management and willingness to pay for retention.

However, for OpenClaw users accustomed to subscription-based unified billing, the increase in usage costs remains an unavoidable reality.

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