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14 Oct 2026

Grok Bot for Beginners: Bots, Skills, Routines, Connectors, and Templates

A plain beginner's guide to Grok Bot: what a Bot is, how skills, routines, connectors and templates work, and how to set up your first Bot safely.

Checked against the official docs on Oct 14, 2026. Browse hand-checked templates on our Grok Bots page.

Short answer: Grok Bot lets you keep AI "Bots" around as named teammates. Each Bot has a job, its own conversation, and memory of how you like things done. Bots work on a cloud computer with a browser, files, and a terminal, so they can finish tasks in real apps and websites, even when your laptop is closed. You teach a Bot a task once, save it as a skill, and put it on a schedule with a routine. Connectors link it to apps you already use, and templates let you share a Bot or start from someone else's.

This guide sticks to what xAI documents. Where we could not confirm something, we left it out.

What a Bot is

The official docs describe a Bot as "a durable AI teammate with a name, a job, its own conversation, and working context that develops over time."

A few things follow from that:

  • One Bot, one job. The docs suggest jobs like "Expense Manager" or "Bug Reproduction" rather than "General Helper." A clear job gives the Bot better guidance.
  • It remembers. A Bot keeps stable preferences, important facts, and summaries of past work. For important decisions, the docs advise asking it to re-check the real source rather than relying on memory.
  • It has a computer. All of your Bots share one persistent cloud computer: the same files, browser sessions, and app logins. Treat anything on it as visible to every Bot you run.
  • It keeps working. Closing the app or your laptop does not stop a running task or a routine.

Grok Bot runs on macOS, Windows, Linux, iPhone, iPad, and Android. Per the docs, access comes with paid individual Cursor plans and the Cursor Teams plan, or by linking an individual SuperGrok, SuperGrok Plus, or SuperGrok Heavy subscription. Usage resets weekly. Check the official Plans and billing page for current details.

Set up your first Bot

  1. Choose New in the sidebar (or press Cmd/Ctrl+N).
  2. Select Create new Bot, or type a name and choose Create "name" Bot.
  3. Open Edit Profile to set its name, description, and avatar.
  4. Start the conversation with a concrete task.

Write the description in plain operational terms, including what it must never do. The docs use rules like "Never send external messages without approval." Put lasting rules in the description and one-off instructions in the chat.

A good first task spans a couple of tools and has a clear finish line. For example: "Every Friday, collect this week's receipts from my email into a spreadsheet and show me anything over $100 before I file it."

Skills: teach it once

A skill is a reusable set of instructions for a task: the steps, decision rules, expected output, and safety limits. Skills are shared across all your Bots, though a Bot may still need the right connector or login to use one.

The simplest way to make one is to walk a Bot through a task once, then ask it to save the steps as a skill. In the desktop app, type / to reference a saved skill.

Routines: put it on a schedule

A routine tells one Bot when to run a workflow: on a schedule, or after an event where supported. To see a Bot's routines, open the Bot, choose View conversation details, then Routines. From there you can run a test, edit the schedule or instructions, and check recent runs.

Limits from the docs:

  • A Bot can own up to 50 routines.
  • Schedules must be at least five minutes apart.
  • The app keeps the 20 most recent runs for each routine, so you can check what happened.
  • Deleting a routine is immediate and cannot be undone.

The docs recommend having routines draft or recommend first, and requiring your approval before anything is sent, purchased, deleted, or published.

Connectors: link your apps

Connectors give a Bot a structured way to work with a service. Install them from Connect apps in the sidebar:

  1. Open Connect apps and browse the plugins.
  2. Choose Add and sign in if asked.
  3. In chat, type @ to attach the connector to a task.

The docs say a connector is often more reliable than clicking through a website, so use one when it exists. Installed connectors are account-wide, not limited to one Bot. For sites without a connector, the Bot can use its browser. Some sites block automation or need a human step, and the Bot hands those to you.

Bots can also read public X posts without you connecting an X account. To work with your DMs, bookmarks, or timeline, add the X plugin and sign in.

Templates and the Marketplace: start from someone else's Bot

Want to browse a few? Our Grok Bots page lists hand-checked public templates, each linked to its official page.

A template shares a Bot "as a recipe, not a clone," in the words of the official guide. It packages the Bot's instructions, relevant memories, skills, routines, and first-party plugins. It leaves out secrets, personal information, conversation history, and non-standard plugins like custom MCP servers or scripts.

To share one: open the Share menu, choose Create template, pick Public link or Team-only, then copy the link. Remove API keys, internal URLs, and private data first.

To add one: open the link, review what's included, and choose Add to Grok Bot. You need the Grok Bot app to finish. You get your own copy; it does not give you the creator's computer or logins. You may need to reconnect plugins.

The Marketplace in the sidebar (also at x.ai/bot/marketplace) lists Bots you can add, grouped by area such as Personal, Marketing, Design, and Engineering. Shared Bots are made by other users, not by xAI, so read the details before adding one.

Next steps

Staying safe

  • Give each Bot a narrow job and a written list of things it must never do without asking.
  • Keep approval on for sending, buying, deleting, and publishing.
  • Treat templates like software you install: check what's inside first.
  • Remember that all your Bots share one computer, its files, and its logins.

FAQ

What is Grok Bot?

An app from xAI where you keep named AI Bots, each with a job, memory, and access to a shared cloud computer with a browser, files, and a terminal. You talk to a Bot by typing, dictating, or voice.

Does a Bot keep working when my computer is off?

Yes. Per the docs, work runs on the cloud computer, so closing the app or your laptop does not stop a task or routine.

What's the difference between a skill and a routine?

A skill is how to do a task. A routine is when a Bot does it, on a schedule or after an event.

Is a template safe to add?

Templates are made by other users, not by xAI. The official guide says to read the template's details and make sure everything is what you expect before adding it.

Can I start a task from X?

Yes, where available. Tag @bot in a post or reply and your main Bot picks it up as a task. This needs an X account connected to your Grok account and is not available in every region yet.

Sources

Official pages (fetched October 14, 2026):

Grok Bot changes often. Check the official docs for the latest details.