Your AI Personal Assistant
People keep asking us how to set up an AI assistant. Here’s everything we’d tell you over coffee, minus the coffee.
What Are We Actually Talking About?
An AI assistant is software that does real tasks — manages your calendar, drafts emails, researches, organizes files, and remembers context. It’s not a chatbot. It’s a worker.
Calendar & Scheduling
Manages meetings, resolves conflicts, sends invites on your behalf.
Email & Drafts
Writes, edits, and sends emails matching your tone and style.
Research & Analysis
Pulls data, summarizes findings, and builds reports from the web.
Memory & Context
Remembers your preferences, past conversations, and ongoing projects.
Pick Your Path
Two fundamentally different approaches. One is managed — you use it, someone else runs it. The other is open — you own it, you run it.
Claude Pro + Cowork
$20/moPowerful assistant, zero infrastructure. Anthropic handles everything.
OpenClaw on a Mac Mini
~$600 to startOwn your stack. Any model, any channel, full data sovereignty.
Three Paths, One Decision
Just get going
Claude Pro at $20/month. Desktop app. Phone paired. Running in 15 minutes.
Best if you want help now and don’t want to manage anything.Own your stack
Mac Mini (~$500) + OpenClaw + API costs (~$20-50/mo). Your models, your persona, full sovereignty.
Best if you want independence and multi-model flexibility.Have it managed
Open platform power without being your own IT department. Someone else handles it.
Best for businesses that need reliability every day. Learn moreGet Your Hardware
Going the OpenClaw route? You need a computer that stays on.
Apple Mac Mini M4
$499-599 retailAn M5 version is expected mid-2026. If you can wait, wait. Otherwise the M4 is excellent. After setup, tuck it on a shelf — you’ll interact via messaging apps on your phone or desktop.
Ongoing costs: ~$20-50/mo in API fees (depends on usage), ~$1-2/mo in electricity. No subscription for OpenClaw itself.
OpenClaw Quickstart
Seven steps from unboxing to a working agent.
Set up Mac Mini
Plug in, run macOS setup, connect to Ethernet.
Install OpenClaw
Open Terminal and run: curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | sh
Run onboarding
openclaw onboard --install-daemon
Get an API key
Anthropic recommended. Or connect your existing ChatGPT/OpenAI account as an alternative.
Connect a channel
Telegram is easiest. The wizard walks you through it.
Test it
Send a message. If it responds, you’re live.
Go headless
Unplug the monitor. Your agent runs as a daemon 24/7. Tip: grab an HDMI emulator plug (~$8 on Amazon) so macOS thinks a display is connected — prevents resolution issues when you remote in.
First Week Playbook
Your agent is running. Here’s how to get real value out of it in the first seven days.
Start with a system prompt
Tell your agent who it is and how to behave. Here’s a starter you can customize:
You are my personal assistant. Be concise, direct, and proactive. When I give you a task, confirm you understood it, then do it. If something is ambiguous, ask one clarifying question — don’t guess.Connect one tool at a time
Don’t wire up everything on day one. Start with calendar or email, get comfortable, then add Slack, file access, and others.
Give it a real task daily
“Summarize my unread emails” or “Draft a reply to Sarah’s proposal.” The only way to learn what works is to actually use it.
Review the logs
Check what your agent did and didn’t do. Tune the instructions based on what surprises you. This is where the real value gets built.
Test safely first
Before granting write access to email or files, test with read-only permissions. Make sure the agent does what you expect before giving it the keys.
Security & Privacy Best Practices
Running your own agent means running your own security. Here are the essentials.
~/.openclaw) holds memory, config, and skills. Back it up weekly at minimum.Book a One-Time Setup Session
We’ll get you set up over a video call. After that, you’re on your own. Pay securely via Stripe — you’ll get a confirmation email with scheduling details.
Guided Setup
$15030-minute video callScreen share walkthrough for the tricky parts. You picked your path — we’ll get you unstuck.
Full Agent Build
$500Half-day video sessionWe handle it end-to-end: install, configure, connect accounts, build workflows, and deliver a maintenance cheat sheet.
Common Pitfalls
What we see people run into. Not fear-mongering — just experience.
“It worked last week”
Models update, APIs change, skills break. You need to stay current and test after every upgrade.
“My agent forgot everything”
Memory is fragile. A bad update or workspace reset wipes weeks of context. Backups are on you.
“Which model do I use?”
New models drop constantly. Picking the right one for the job is ongoing, not one-time.
“Someone got into my agent”
Prompt injection attacks are real. External content can hijack your agent’s tools.
“Nobody uses it”
Business agents need workflow integration, data policies, and team-specific tuning.
“It takes more time than it saves”
If maintaining AI infrastructure becomes a second job, you’ve traded one problem for another.
If any of that sounds like your Tuesday, there’s a different option.
Boatwork Assist is a managed OpenClaw service for businesses. We run your AI agents so you don’t have to.
Marine industry? This is what we do at boatwork.co. Another industry? Reach out — we’re expanding.
