What is OpenClaw's proactive initiative feature?
Definitive Answer
OpenClaw initiative means the agent acts without waiting to be asked. It monitors conditions you define — data thresholds, schedules, external events — and proactively sends reports, alerts, reminders, or takes configured actions. For example, an OpenClaw sales agent might automatically send a weekly pipeline summary every Monday morning, or alert you when a key metric drops below target, all without you typing a single message.
Step-by-Step Guide
- 1Deploy your OpenClaw agent on FetchOpenClaws with the automation and scheduling skills enabled.
- 2Define proactive triggers: schedule-based (every Monday at 9am), condition-based (when metric X drops below Y), or event-based (when a new ticket arrives).
- 3Configure the action: what message to send, which channel to use, and what data to include.
- 4Set the initiative scope: which users or channels receive proactive messages.
- 5Test the trigger by manually firing it, then enable it for production.
- 6Monitor initiative activity logs to see what was sent and when.
Example Prompt
Set up my OpenClaw agent to send me a daily business briefing at 8am with yesterday's sales, open support tickets, and any anomalies in key metrics. Deliver it via WhatsApp.
Common Pitfalls
- Configuring too many proactive triggers — users get overwhelmed and start ignoring the agent
- Not testing triggers before enabling — a misconfigured alert can fire thousands of times
- Not setting rate limits on condition-based triggers — a constantly changing metric can spam alerts
- Forgetting timezone settings for schedule-based triggers in distributed teams
FAQ
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