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Why You Shouldn't Self-Host Your AI Bot

Open-source AI bots are powerful, but self-hosting comes with hidden costs, security risks, and maintenance headaches.

Open-source AI bots like OpenClaw are incredible. They give you the power of a personal AI assistant without vendor lock-in, with full control over your data and deployment. But there’s a catch: actually deploying and maintaining them safely is harder than it looks.

The Hidden Costs of Self-Hosting

When you clone an AI bot repository and run it locally, you’re taking on responsibilities that go far beyond running npm install. Let’s break down what you’re really signing up for:

1. Security Configuration

AI bots need access to powerful APIs—OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and more. That means managing API keys, which, if exposed, can lead to:

  • Runaway costs: Someone finds your leaked key and racks up thousands in API charges
  • Data breaches: Your conversation history and prompts exposed
  • Account suspension: API providers shutting down your access

You’ll need to implement:

  • Proper secret management (not just .env files)
  • Network isolation
  • Firewall rules
  • Regular security audits
  • Intrusion detection

2. Channel Integrations

Want to talk to your bot via WhatsApp? Slack? Discord? Each channel requires:

  • OAuth setup and callback URLs
  • Webhook configuration
  • Rate limiting
  • Message queuing
  • Error handling and retries

Each integration is its own mini-project with unique quirks and failure modes.

3. Infrastructure Maintenance

Your bot needs to be:

  • Always available: Setting up monitoring, alerting, and automatic restarts
  • Up to date: Tracking upstream changes, security patches, and dependency updates
  • Scaled properly: Handling traffic spikes without crashing or overspending

This means learning Docker, setting up CI/CD, configuring load balancers, and more.

4. Cost Management

Without proper controls, your bot can burn through your API budget in hours:

  • Users spamming long requests
  • Infinite loops in agent workflows
  • No rate limiting or spending caps
  • Unclear visibility into what’s driving costs

The Alternative: Managed Deployment

This is why Bots For Humans exists. We handle all of the above so you don’t have to.

When you use a managed bot deployment:

  • ✅ Security is handled by experts who do this full-time
  • ✅ Channels work out of the box with zero config
  • ✅ Updates happen automatically with zero downtime
  • ✅ Costs are monitored 24/7 with automatic alerts and limits
  • ✅ Real humans are watching your bot’s health and security

When Self-Hosting Makes Sense

Don’t get us wrong—self-hosting can make sense in specific scenarios:

  • You’re a DevOps engineer who loves this stuff
  • You have strict compliance requirements that mandate on-premise deployment
  • You’re running a bot for personal experimentation and learning

But for teams who just want to use AI bots without becoming infrastructure experts? Managed deployment is the clear winner.

Get Started

Ready to deploy your first managed AI bot? Get in touch and we’ll have you up and running in under an hour—no DevOps degree required.