What is Grok Bot, besides chat?

Short answer: Grok Bot is a product whose Bots finish work. It is not another window that only answers questions. The official contrast is that a Bot can use a persistent cloud computer, connected tools, websites and files, keep going in the background, keep context for its role, and coordinate with other Bots. Give each Bot one clear job. The work itself runs on that cloud computer. The desktop app can also act on your own computer, and that path asks every time unless you change it. Official clients are desktop apps for macOS, Windows and Linux, plus companion apps for iPhone and Android. (official FAQ, Bots docs, get started)

How this differs from ordinary chat

The FAQ asks how Grok Bot differs from an AI assistant. The answer is not a model name. A Bot can use a persistent cloud computer, connected tools, websites and files to complete work, not only answer questions. (official FAQ)

The same answer names three things a chat box usually does not do. A Bot can continue in the background. It keeps role-specific context instead of starting from a blank page each time. It can coordinate with other Bots. (official FAQ)

Memory is split by role. A Bot can retain stable preferences, role context and summaries of prior work. Its conversation and learned role stay separate from other Bots. Shared files, browser sessions, group messages and direct handoffs can still move context between them. For an important decision, ask the Bot to check the current source rather than relying on memory. (official FAQ)

Several Bots can work at the same time. They can reason, use connectors, work with files and coordinate in parallel. On the shared computer, each Bot gets its own screen. One Bot can run only one computer-use task on its screen at a time. (official FAQ)

Grok Bot can use many browser-based sites, including services that have no dedicated connector. A site may still block automation, require a new login, show a CAPTCHA, or require a person to confirm. The docs say the Bot should hand those steps to you rather than bypassing them. When a connector exists, use it. A connector is more structured and more reliable than driving the website. (official FAQ)

One Bot, one job

The Bots docs define a Bot as a durable AI teammate with a name, a job, its own conversation, and working context that develops over time. That is a different habit from dropping every task into one thread. (Bots docs)

Create a separate Bot when the work has a distinct boundary. The boundary can be a goal or area of ownership, a set of tools and sources, a working style, an approval boundary, or a recurring schedule. Jobs the docs treat as clear include Talent Scout, Expense Manager and Bug Reproduction. A job such as General Helper gives the Bot less guidance, and the context it saves is harder to reuse. (Bots docs)

Write the role in operational terms, and include a standing limit. The docs’ example owns the weekly account-health review: pull product usage and support signals, flag evidence of churn or expansion, and produce a linked watch list for the customer-success team. Never contact a customer or change an account without approval. (Bots docs)

Put lasting rules in the description and the task of the moment in the message. The docs contrast two lines. The description can say “Never send external messages without approval.” The message can say “Draft follow-ups for these twelve accounts.” When you find a preference, boundary or responsibility that should stay true, update the description. (Bots docs)

Get started says the same thing from the other side. Focused Bots build more useful context than one catch-all Bot. When work later splits into distinct roles, add another with New, then Create new Bot. (get started)

Short official definitions of these words are in the glossary. If you would rather start from a recipe someone else already wrote, read what a template is, then how to choose a template. Daily digests on this site are grouped in the Daily briefing collection. That grouping is our directory, not an official roster of jobs.

The use-cases page also starts from a repeatable outcome, not a loose category of questions. Start with read-and-prepare work, review the result, then add an approved action or a routine. Sales outbound, talent scout, paid media, expenses, product performance, bug reproduction, account health and a chief-of-staff digest are the roles that page uses as examples. (use cases)

Where the work happens

The computer-and-apps page opens with this: Grok Bot works from a persistent cloud computer. It can use a browser, a command line, files and connected tools without depending on your laptop remaining open. You can leave the preview while work continues. Closing the Grok Bot app or your laptop does not stop cloud work. (computer and apps)

The FAQ is more specific. Bot work runs on the cloud computer. Closing the app, the laptop or the phone does not stop a background turn or a routine. (official FAQ)

The computer is assigned per account, not per Bot. Every Bot on your account shares it: browser sessions, files and command-line credentials are visible to the others. One Bot can continue from work another Bot saved. The docs therefore say not to use separate Bots as a security boundary. Do not place a credential or file on that computer if another Bot on the account should not be able to use it. (official FAQ, computer and apps)

Hosting is stated in the security docs. Grok Bot runs only on Cursor-hosted cloud computers. On-premises deployment, deployment inside your own perimeter, and bring-your-own-image deployment are not supported today. (security docs)

Beside the cloud computer, there is a separate path onto your own machine. The security docs say a Bot can act on a member’s own machine through the desktop app: run commands, read files, and move files between the cloud computer and the local machine. That capability has its own control, and it is distinct from Auto Review, which governs work inside the hosted computer. (security docs)

The approvals page separates the cloud computer from the Mac or Windows computer in front of you. The setting is under Settings, General, Bot, Execution on Local Computer. The choices are Ask every time, Always allow and Never allow. Once the account has registered computers, the choice moves to Settings, Computer, Computers, and each computer has its own Execution on this computer. The default is Ask every time. Use Never allow unless a Bot has a specific reason to work on your local files. A team admin can set a stricter cap. These settings do not stop the Bot from using its cloud computer. (approvals and privacy, security docs)

The first time a Bot asks to run a command on your computer, the conversation asks whether to allow Grok Bot and all Bots to run commands on your local computer. The choices are Always allow, Allow once, Never and Deny once. Always allow and Never set Execution on Local Computer for every Bot. You can change that later in Settings. (approvals and privacy)

Sign-in, two-factor codes, CAPTCHAs and payment use a computer takeover. The Bot does not type those for you. Passwords and one-time codes do not belong in ordinary chat. For which external actions should ask first, see the Ask first rules summarized on the template safety checklist. (official FAQ, security docs)

Grok Bot requires cloud data storage, so Legacy Privacy Mode is not supported. If an account is still on that setting, get started says to move to a supported Cursor data setting before a Bot can start. (official FAQ, get started)

Where to download the official clients

The FAQ says you talk to Grok Bot in the desktop app on macOS, Windows or Linux, or in the companion app on iOS or Android. The same Bots and conversations sync across devices signed in to the account. (official FAQ)

Install the desktop app from the official downloads page. Get started says to open x.ai/bot and choose the download for your computer. That page currently shows a macOS download and a More downloads entry. Which build to pick follows the list in get started. (get started)

The FAQ platform list matches that, and adds phones. iPhone needs iOS 18 or later. Android needs Android 9 or later. The iOS app also runs on iPad with iPadOS 18 or later. Linux packages are again deb, rpm or AppImage. (official FAQ)

The app checks for updates automatically. You can also use Check for Updates under Settings, Updates. (get started)

Sign-in uses a Cursor account. Choose Sign in on the welcome screen. If you are already in the app, choose Sign In with Cursor from Settings, finish in the browser, and return. If your organization requires single sign-on, use the normal organization flow. If access comes from a SuperGrok subscription, link it when the app asks. On desktop the entry is Settings, Usage & Billing. Which plans include access, and how usage is counted, is on the Cursor plans page. This article does not list prices. (get started)

On first use, the app introduces Bots, the shared computer and routines, then asks which tools you use. Those answers shape the first teammate suggestions. They do not connect or modify those tools by themselves. Computer setup runs in the background, and the final step opens Meet a future teammate. (get started)

Mobile is the same cloud, not a second product. The mobile docs say the iPhone or Android app connects to the same Bots, conversations, routines, connectors and shared cloud computer. Work continues in the cloud when the app is closed. Requirements match the FAQ, plus an internet connection. On iPhone, download from the App Store link in that doc. On Android, download from the Google Play link in that doc. (mobile docs)

Cursor’s mobile help states the account side of the same fact. Install the current Grok Bot mobile app and sign in with the same Cursor account you use on desktop or the web. If that account already includes Grok Bot, access carries into mobile, and the help page says not to buy a second subscription through the store in that case. Updating, recovering or resetting the computer is not available on the phone. Use the desktop app. The mobile docs also say some advanced desktop controls and teach-by-demonstration flows are not on mobile. (Cursor mobile help, mobile docs)

FAQ

Does a Bot keep working after I close the laptop?

Yes. The FAQ says Bot work runs on the cloud computer, and closing the app, laptop or phone does not stop a background turn or a routine. The computer-and-apps page says the same about closing the app or the laptop: cloud work continues.

Does each Bot have its own computer?

No. There is one persistent cloud computer per account. All Bots share its files, browser sessions and logins so they can hand work off. The computer is assigned per user, not per Bot. The docs say not to use separate Bots as a security boundary.

Is the phone app a separate set of Bots?

No. The mobile docs say the phone app connects to the same Bots, conversations, routines, connectors and shared cloud computer. The FAQ says signed-in devices sync the same Bots and conversations. Editing a routine’s schedule or instructions, and testing a routine, currently require the desktop app.

Based on the official FAQ (Sep 29, 2026), get started and Bots (Oct 12, 2026), mobile, computer and apps, approvals and privacy, security, use cases, plus Cursor mobile help and the plans page. The downloads page x.ai/bot was checked on Oct 18, 2026. Last checked: 2026-10-18. Bests.one is not affiliated with xAI.