Guide

Grok Bot skills vs routines: how a job is done, and when it runs

Updated · by Rosh Perera

Grok Bot has two building blocks for repeat work. A skill is a reusable set of instructions for how to do a task. A routine tells one Bot when to run a workflow, on a schedule or, where supported, after an event (xAI's Skills and routines docs). Put simply, the skill is the how and the routine is the when. Most routines run a skill, so you usually want both, in that order. This guide covers what goes in each, how to save and find them, the limits worth knowing and three pairs to start with. Grok Bot facts come from xAI's Grok Bot docs, Cursor's Grok Bot help and xAI's changelog, checked 19 Oct 2026. Where those pages differ, we follow xAI's docs and say so. We're an independent site, not part of xAI.

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What to hand to an agent first

  • The order xAI recommends: task, skill, routine

    Start with a one-time task. Make it reliable, save the method as a skill and only then automate it (xAI's Skills and routines docs). In practice, ask your Bot to do the job once while you watch, correct it until the result is right, then ask it to save what it just did as a skill. Only once the skill works on a few real examples should you give it a schedule. Skipping straight to a routine means an untested method runs on its own, again and again.

  • What a skill holds, and where it lives

    A skill captures steps, decision rules, expected output and safety boundaries. A useful skill says when to use it, the inputs and access it needs, the sequence of work, how to check the result, what to return and what needs your approval (xAI's Skills and routines docs). Skills are available across your Bots, although a Bot may need the right connector or login to use one, and your private skills are one library shared by all your Bots (xAI's Skills and routines docs). So write a skill once, such as "Weekly invoice check", and any of your Bots with access to your invoicing tool can use it.

  • Save a skill, or teach one by showing

    The simplest way is to ask, for example: "Save the process we just used as a skill called Weekly invoice check. Include where the invoices come from, what counts as overdue, the summary format, and the rule that any email to a customer needs my approval." Where Teach a task is available, you can demonstrate a browser workflow instead. Open a one-to-one Bot conversation and its computer view, choose Teach a task, describe the result, do the workflow once and stop the recording. Teaching records what's visible on the computer for up to ten minutes, with no microphone audio, and the skill it creates is a draft to review and test (xAI's Skills and routines docs). If you don't see Teach a task, it may not be on for you yet; ask the Bot to write the skill from your instructions and the finished task.

  • Find a saved skill when you need it

    xAI's docs say to type / in the desktop composer to reference a saved skill, and @ for Bots, groups, routines and connectors. If a skill doesn't appear, open Connect apps → Your plugins → Manage plugins and skills and check that it's listed under Private skills (xAI's Skills and routines docs). One honest note: a Grok Bot changelog entry from 7 Oct 2026 says typing / in the composer no longer opens a menu of skills and actions, while xAI's docs, updated 12 Oct 2026, still describe the / menu. We follow the docs. If no menu appears for you, name the skill in your message, the way xAI's own routine example names its skill.

  • What a routine holds

    Ask the Bot that should own the recurring job, and say what, when and with what limits. Before you rely on it, confirm the owning Bot, the schedule and time zone, the input source, the expected result, the approval boundary and what should happen when a source is missing (xAI's Skills and routines docs). Routines run in the cloud while your laptop is closed. Besides a schedule, a routine can start from events such as a Slack message, an email or a webhook call (Grok Bot help: Routines). Keep event rules narrow: broad listeners such as "every new message" create noise, use up usage and raise the chance of acting on the wrong input (xAI's Skills and routines docs).

  • Test, then check it on schedule

    Use Test run after creating or editing a routine. A test run does real work: it can navigate websites, change files and call connected tools, so use safe inputs and keep write actions behind approval (xAI's Skills and routines docs). A new routine waits for its next scheduled time and doesn't run when you create it (Grok Bot help: Routines). To manage a routine, xAI's docs say to open the Bot, choose View conversation details, then open Routines, where you can pause, test, edit or delete it and see recent runs (xAI's Skills and routines docs). Cursor's help describes the same list under the Bot's name and its Details tab, so the labels may differ in your version. If a routine misbehaves, our routines-not-working guide has the checks.

  • Limits worth knowing

    A Bot can own up to 50 routines, and the app keeps the 20 most recent run records for each one. Schedules must be at least five minutes apart. Deleting a routine is immediate and can't be undone, and deleting a Bot also removes its routines. After a long time away, Grok Bot may ask whether to keep routines running and pause them if you don't answer, so check paused routines when you return (xAI's Skills and routines docs). Each run spends usage, and an hourly schedule or a trigger on a busy channel can use a week of usage in a day (Grok Bot help: Routines).

  • Three skill and routine pairs for a small business

    These are our own examples, not xAI's. First: an "Invoice check" skill (which invoices are overdue, the reminder wording, and your approval before anything sends), run by a routine every Monday morning. Second: a "Review reply" skill (your tone, what never to promise, and when to flag a review to you), run once a day. Third: a "New lead intake" skill (what to collect, where to log it, and a drafted first reply), started when a lead email arrives. Our invoice chaser, review request and lead follow-up templates have prompts to start from. If you'd rather start from routines already written with approval rules, the $29 One-Person AI Business Pack has them in Grok Bot format. Not sure which jobs to automate first? Our free What should my bot do? planner picks three in 5 quick questions.

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Ready-made use cases

  1. 01Invoice chaser, with your OK on every reminder
    Every Monday the agent lists unpaid invoices and drafts polite, escalating reminders. You approve each one before it sends. Sending friendly first reminders without review is an optional upgrade.
    ~2h/week · estimate
  2. 02Ask every customer for a review, with your OK on each day's list
    After each completed job the agent drafts the same friendly review request, with your Google link, for every customer. You approve the day's list in one go, then it sends. It flags any complaint that comes back to you.
    ~2h/week · estimate
  3. 03Never miss a lead follow-up
    The agent checks your CRM or inbox for leads that went quiet and drafts the next follow-up.
    ~4h/week · estimate

Example: Grok Bot setup

Grok Bot routine: Invoice chaser, with your OK on every reminder
Schedule: Mondays 9:00

Every Monday, list unpaid invoices. Draft reminders: friendly at 3 days overdue, firm at 14, final at 30. Send me one numbered list: the client, the invoice, the amount, days overdue and the message. Wait for my approval. When I reply approve all, send each reminder exactly as drafted. If I reply edit and a number, make my change and show me again. If I reply remove and a number, leave that client out this week. If I don't answer, send nothing and put the list at the top of next week's. Anything disputed, or a client asking for a payment plan, comes to me. Stop chasing an invoice as soon as it's paid. Report total outstanding. (Sending friendly first reminders without approval is an optional upgrade once you trust the wording. Firm and final reminders still wait for my OK.)

Rules: draft first, never send or post anything external without my approval. Keep summaries short.

Grok Bot, ChatGPT, Claude and n8n versions: all templates

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Setup steps

  1. Ask one Bot to do one job once, and correct it until the result is right.
  2. Ask it to save that method as a skill, naming the inputs, the output and what needs your approval (xAI's Skills and routines docs).
  3. Run the skill by hand on two or three real examples.
  4. Ask the same Bot for a routine that runs the skill, and confirm the schedule, time zone and what happens when a source is missing (xAI's Skills and routines docs).
  5. Press Test with a safe input, then let it run on schedule for a week before you add a second routine.

Keep these human

  • A test run does real work. It can navigate websites, change files and call connected tools, so test with safe inputs (xAI's Skills and routines docs).
  • Keep sending, buying, deleting, publishing and changes to live systems behind your approval in every skill and routine (xAI's Skills and routines docs).
  • Don't show passwords or secret values on screen while you teach a task. Use the secure handoff for credentials (xAI's Skills and routines docs).
  • Deleting a routine has no undo. Pause it instead if you might want it back (xAI's Skills and routines docs).
  • Start in draft mode: the agent prepares, you approve, then you loosen the leash routine by routine.

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Built by Rosh Perera, who has set up AI automations for more than 40 businesses over about 3 years.

FAQ

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

A skill is a reusable set of instructions for how to do a task. A routine tells one Bot when to run a workflow, on a schedule or, where supported, after an event (xAI's Skills and routines docs). Most routines run a skill.

Should I make the skill or the routine first?

The skill. xAI's docs say to start with a one-time task, make it reliable, save the method as a skill and only then automate it (xAI's Skills and routines docs).

Can all my Bots use the same skill?

Yes. Your private skills are one library shared by all your Bots, although a Bot may need the right connector or login to use a skill (xAI's Skills and routines docs). A routine belongs to the one Bot that owns it.

How many routines can a Grok Bot have?

Up to 50 per Bot, and schedules must be at least five minutes apart. The app keeps the 20 most recent run records for each routine (xAI's Skills and routines docs).

Why doesn't my new routine run right away?

A new routine waits for its next scheduled time. Use Test to run it now, with a safe input, because a test does real work (Grok Bot help: Routines).

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