Grok Bot Center: how-tos, tips & ideas for getting real work done

1. Install & sign in

Grab the desktop app for macOS, Windows, or Linux (or the iPhone / Android app). Sign in with the same account your plan uses — there isn’t a separate Grok Bot login. After a short intro, your first Bot is ready in chat.

2. Name the job, not the tool

Tell the Bot what it owns in plain language: outcome, sources, constraints, and when to stop for your OK. Example: “Summarize this doc in five bullets, list dates and open questions, don’t edit the file.” Focused Bots beat one catch-all helper.

3. Connect what the task needs

Open Connect apps, add only the services that first task needs (Gmail, Slack, Calendar, etc.), and finish the provider login. Prefer connectors over clicking through a site when both exist. Type @ in chat to attach an app to a request.

4. Review, then make it stick

Correct the first result, name lasting preferences, and only then ask to save a skill or schedule a routine. Work continues on the Bot’s cloud computer even if you close the laptop.

Create a focused Bot

1. Click + → Create a Bot, give it a clear name.
2. In the first message, state the primary job, sources, output shape, and hard stops (e.g. never send or change production).
3. Ask it to remember that charter for future work.
4. Keep one primary outcome per Bot; split when tools, approvals, or schedules diverge.

Connect apps the right way

1. Open Connect apps from the sidebar (or follow an in-chat Connect card).
2. Search, add the app, then Authorize in the browser.
3. Confirm it appears under Installed; use Reconnect if sign-in stalls.
4. Attach with @ when you ask for work. Use the browser only for tools without a connector.

Save a skill from a win

1. Run a one-off task until the result is reviewable.
2. Ask: “Save this as a skill called … Include sources, steps, how to validate, and what needs approval.”
3. A solid skill states when to use it, inputs, sequence, validation, return format, and approval gates.
4. Call it later by name (or via / / @ where available).

Teach by demonstration

1. Open a 1:1 chat and the Bot’s computer view.
2. Choose Teach a task, describe the result, then perform the flow once (up to ~10 minutes of visible interaction).
3. Stop, review the draft skill, and add decision rules and failure handling.
4. Never expose secrets in the demo — use secure fill / Vault / password-manager handoff instead.

Schedule a trustworthy routine

1. Only after the skill works on a second safe input.
2. Ask the owning Bot: schedule, time zone, input source, expected artifact, approval boundary, and what to do if data is missing.
3. Open the routine → confirm When to run → use Test with safe inputs (tests do real work).
4. Keep sends, purchases, deletes, publishing, and production changes behind approval.

Use Vault for logins & checkout

1. Save logins, cards, and contacts in Settings → Vault (or connect a supported password manager).
2. When the Bot hits a login or checkout wall, approve each fill — secrets stay out of chat.
3. For passkeys / SSO the form can’t handle, take over the computer, finish the step, then return control.
4. Remember: browser sessions and many logins are shared across your Bots on the same computer.

Staff a small Bot team

1. Start with a Chief-of-Staff style Bot on calendar, inbox, and priorities.
2. Add specialists only when goals, tools, style, approval boundaries, or schedules clearly differ.
3. You talk to the coordinator; specialists execute. Use group chat for handoffs.
4. Reuse Bots before creating new ones — separate Bots organize work; they still share one computer.

Build a Page you can keep updating

1. Ask the Bot for a report, memo, or dashboard as a Page.
2. Edit together in the app; pin important Pages in Library.
3. Tell the Bot when to refresh the Page (e.g. after each weekly routine).
4. Share only what you mean to share — Pages can be private, team-wide, or linked depending on your plan.