Connecting OpenClaw, an AI agentAn AI system that doesn't just answer once but works toward a goal in a loop — taking actions, reading the results, and deciding what to do next.Full definition → system used through messaging apps, to OpenRouter introduces two different ways to handle unavailable AI services. The integration guide describes automatic provider failover, which tries another host serving the same model. A configured model routingSending each request to a model chosen by the difficulty of the task, rather than using one model for everything.Full definition → list handles a different problem: the chosen model is unavailable, so the request moves to another model entirely. Keeping those mechanisms distinct helps explain what an agent is using after a failure. Changing the hosting provider can preserve the requested model, while moving through the fallback list changes the model doing the work.
Terms in this piece · Glossary
AI agent — An AI system that doesn't just answer once but works toward a goal in a loop — taking actions, reading the results, and deciding what to do next.
model routing — Sending each request to a model chosen by the difficulty of the task, rather than using one model for everything.
