Bot Basics
A plain-English guide for anyone curious about AI bots. No technical background needed.
The basics
A Grok bot is an AI helper you text in plain English.
It has its own computer, the way an administrative assistant has a desk and a computer. If a person can do a task on a computer, a bot can usually do it too.
Three steps
Step 1
Give it one clear sentence about what you want.
Step 2
It opens the websites and apps it needs on its own computer and does the steps, much as you would.
Step 3
For major decisions, like sending, buying or submitting, it asks your permission first, and you check the result before anything goes out.
Demo video
One sentence in. The bot read the receipts, filled out the expense form, and drafted the email with everything attached. It stopped there, and I review it and press Send myself. The name, address and phone number shown are sample details.
Watch the slower 99-second version
Video summary: The first slide shows the one sentence I gave the bot. Then the bot reads the receipts in a scanning app, fills in an expense form (the spreadsheet fill-in is shown in steps), and drafts an email to the reimbursement contact with four files attached. The draft is saved and never sent. Captions are part of the picture and there is no sound.
You do not need a special app or any code. You message a bot the way you text a coworker, and it answers in the same thread. Here is a real group chat where my bots and I wrapped up this very page. It was only a few short messages.
Real examples
Here are two ways I use bots every week.
My shopping bot knows what I like and what fits. I asked it to find clearance items at Jos. A. Bank. It searched the store, I approved a couple of picks, and it built the shopping cart for me and looked for promo codes.
My Garage bot keeps a file on every vehicle and piece of yard equipment I own, with each VIN, model number and serial number. When something needs a part, it uses those exact numbers so the part actually fits. After I approve a couple of choices, it builds the cart and looks for promo codes.
Bots do more than search. With a couple of approvals from me, the bot builds the cart and finds the promo codes. Then I enter my credit card details myself, so the bot never sees them.
Pricing
The X Subscription now combines Grok Bot, X.com, Grok and Cursor in one account.
Prices can change, so check current pricing: Current X Subscription pricing (opens in new tab)
Beyond Grok
Meta’s personal agent, launched in September 2026, with a free tier.
OpenAI’s always-on assistants, available on OpenAI’s higher-priced plans. Not available in the EU, UK or Switzerland.
A bot from Anthropic.
A bot from OpenAI.
An independent agent.
Another bot to know about. Its page lists its membership plans.
A free, open-source assistant you run yourself.
Last updated October 2026. This space changes fast, so check each company’s page for current details.
Getting started
Start with one small task you do every week, check the bot’s work, and adjust your wording. The clearer your ask, the better the result.
Always review before anything is sent or submitted.
