Choose a hosted agent or a self-hosted setup

Choose where an AI agent runs by asking who will operate it after the first successful demonstration. A hosted service may reduce the infrastructure you maintain. A self-hosted setup may give you more control over that infrastructure while adding responsibilities. Neither choice removes the need to review access and results.

This guide helps a nontechnical owner make an operating decision. By the end, you should know which responsibilities your business can accept and what to ask a setup provider before choosing a platform.

Understand the two arrangements

A hosted agent runs substantially on infrastructure operated by its provider. You access it through an app or browser and configure the account, tools and tasks available to you. ChatGPT dots and Grok Bot document their own cloud computers. Downloading their client apps does not turn them into private-server installations. OpenAI dots, Grok Bot overview.

In a self-hosted arrangement, you operate an agent's runtime, meaning the software that carries out its work, on a machine you control or rent. OpenClaw documents installing a Gateway and running it as a service for background operation. Hermes Agent also provides installable software and configuration routes. OpenClaw setup, Hermes installation.

The categories describe operating responsibility. They do not, by themselves, settle privacy, quality, cost or whether every component runs in the same place.

Separate the agent from its model

An agent is the surrounding system that handles instructions, tools and tasks. A model is the component that produces AI responses. A locally installed agent can still send information to a remote model provider or connected app, depending on its configuration.

Ask for a simple data route: where does the input start, where is it processed, where are results stored, and which services receive information? Include logs and attachments in that discussion. “Runs on our computer” is not enough detail to establish that data remains entirely inside the business.

If a requirement demands local processing or a particular region, write it down explicitly and have the proposed configuration verified. Do not assume an open-source label or paid subscription satisfies it. Begin with non-sensitive sample material while unresolved questions remain.

Identify the everyday operator

For a hosted service, the provider operates its underlying platform, while you still manage account access, connected services and business instructions. You need someone to notice failed tasks, review important outputs and keep ownership current when staff change.

For a self-hosted arrangement, assign responsibility for the machine, operating-system updates, agent updates, service restarts, backups and recovery. Also assign someone to check changes to connected tools and model-provider access. A successful installation is the beginning of that operating relationship.

OpenClaw's security guidance covers network exposure, tool permissions, secrets, storage and incident response. Those topics illustrate why a self-hosted agent needs more than a working chat window. Official security guidance.

Decide which computer must remain available

Write down where the work actually runs. If your chosen runtime lives on an office computer, that machine's availability matters. If it runs on a rented server, someone must maintain the server and pay for it. If a hosted task needs your local files or apps, local-device requirements still matter.

OpenAI documents that cloud work can continue independently, while work using your connected computer requires that computer online with ChatGPT open. Dot setup requirements.

Ask a practical question: what happens when the owner closes the laptop, the internet fails or the machine restarts? Have the answer demonstrated with a harmless task before relying on the setup for time-sensitive work.

Compare full costs without inventing savings

List the same categories for each option: setup assistance, subscriptions, model usage, hosting or hardware, staff review, maintenance and recovery. An open-source download may have no purchase price while still requiring paid services and staff time. A hosted subscription may still have usage limits or separately billed work.

Avoid deciding from a single monthly price. Estimate a modest pilot workload and label assumptions clearly. Measure review and correction time once the trial runs. Count the effort of recovering a failed job as well as the time required to generate a successful answer.

A fictional choice between two designs

Fictional example: Dana owns North Pier Signs, an invented sign-making business. She wants help preparing draft production checklists. She has no staff member responsible for server maintenance and begins by considering a hosted trial with fictional job details.

Her colleague Malik runs an invented software consultancy. He already has an operator who maintains test systems and wants a controlled environment for an internal experiment. He considers an installable runtime, but still needs to verify model-provider access and data handling.

Neither business has proved that its first preference is the best long-term option. They have identified a plausible starting arrangement based on operating capacity. Each will use the same small acceptance test and review the whole cost before expanding. These examples are fictional and make no claim of actual deployment results.

Use this decision checklist

1. Describe one useful task and the information it requires.
2. Identify where the agent, model, tools and stored results will operate.
3. Name who owns accounts, permissions and business review.
4. Name who maintains machines, updates, backups and recovery where applicable.
5. Verify device availability and demonstrate a safe restart or interruption.
6. Compare all expected cost categories for the pilot workload.
7. Document how to stop work, remove access and retain needed results.

Official product details were checked on October 10, 2026. Recheck the selected release and account requirements before implementation. If you cannot assign an operating responsibility, keep it visible as an unresolved decision rather than assuming the setup provider covers it forever.

Bring the checklist to InstallAI when discussing independent setup options. Ask for a proposal that separates onboarding, installation and ongoing support, with the exact scope and charges stated. The right arrangement is one your business can operate and review after the demonstration ends.