The bar I’m using now is simple. Did my agent tell me what to do, or did it hand me the finished thing?

Told is last year. Done is the frontier.

Most AI still runs on told. It reads your inbox and gives you a summary. It scans your calendar and gives you a briefing. It builds a dashboard nobody opens. You still do the work.

My mom uses email for email and the browser for the internet. That’s it. Until now she had no way to even understand agents, let alone use one. Grok Bot crosses that chasm. She can install one app, name a Bot, tell it what she wants, and watch the little guy open its own computer and start working. When a login appears, she takes the mouse, signs in herself, and hands control back. No agent framework, no terminal, no Mac mini on a shelf.

I have spent years building AI teams in terminals, folders, agent harnesses, and project systems. The power has been real for a long time. Getting to it meant choosing a framework, connecting services, managing credentials, and enjoying the machinery enough to keep the whole thing alive. Grok Bot is the first time I opened a consumer app and felt the whole multi-agent idea arrive at once.

In roughly eight hours, I built twelve working Bots. One became my Chief of Staff, another led a landing-page project, and a research specialist looked for customer language. Other Bots worked through Gmail, Slack, Google Calendar, and LinkedIn. Others took travel planning, exercise, and contact research. One went looking for a backyard sauna that could get hot enough. By the time I sat down to write this piece and record my video, I had already gone past twelve because every project in my life started suggesting another useful role.

Every Bot had a name, a continuing job, a conversation, and its own screen. All of them shared one cloud computer assigned to my account: the files, the browser sessions, the connected tools, the command-line credentials.

That shared computer is the point.

It’s why one Bot can research something, save it, and message another without making me download the file, upload it somewhere else, and restate the assignment. I stopped being the integration layer between two AI chats.

Grok Bot turns those parts into concepts people already understand: a teammate, a job, a conversation, a computer, a file, a message, and a moment when the person needs to take over. The technical system is still underneath, but the person gets to work at the level of the thing they want to make.

Grok Bot is the multi-agent product for knowledge work, and it’s finally here.

The two Bots you’ll get are both built on done. One goes looking for work already sitting in your sources and prepares the finished version. The other takes a business idea and builds the motions around it. Something exists at the end that didn’t exist before, and you didn’t have to make it.

Here’s what’s inside:

The shared computer.Why one Linux box behind twelve Bots is the decision that makes the whole thing work, and why it’s also the security boundary.
What twelve Bots taught me.The rule that stops you from building a dozen useless roles: a Bot owns a theme, not a task.
The $200 question.The real price range, and the value bar I’d set before you spend anything.
Two Bots to start with.Grab the Super Doer Bot and the Business in a Box Bot, both built to leave finished work behind instead of another briefing.

Subscribers get the full deep-dive and guide, plus membership to my Slack community!

",{"_257":202,"_258":286,"_259":287},"6d378521-4219-4fa0-9e51-8924304e1499",{"_21":286,"_33":288,"_204":289,"_35":290,"_227":291,"_264":291,"_23":234,"_265":292,"_267":293,"_220":42,"_70":-5,"_72":42,"_182":294,"_257":202,"_283":307},"Grok Bot is not what you think","The author shares their positive experience with Grok Bot, contrasting it with previous AI agents by highlighting its simplified interface and 'personification' feature, which makes agents feel like teammates. Grok Bot allows users to connect accounts, watch agents use a virtual computer, and easily set up automations, though account connection had some issues. The article also touches on the new Grok 4.6 model, its performance, and upcoming versions, alongside mentions of other AI tools and industry news.","plus skills and tools to try with agents","https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/6e91bf39-c452-4fd9-a01b-907b38e8ce27_2150x1114.png","2026-08-13T13:02:39","https://www.bensbites.com/p/grok-bot-is-not-what-you-think",{"_21":295,"_185":296,"_187":116,"_70":297,"_213":304,"_214":305,"_216":306},"c52ca2fcfd50123a1e421a97262721ec93c53d3e15ac9aea002294c38c24c67f","9031a5b64618b7cca3ec4b693a7fbf7b40aac119647c210a1f690fa5cef43510912f09b90a4621e09c2069541c215a7a8f6cedfb611c5933b22d276ff43489d1",[298,299,300,302,303],[220,288],[37,291],[276,301,42,278],"30023:0b16efb3db6165f2311a31e04c8f874f8c569a4cc6cc219a3295cdfa9110b8b8:6d378521-4219-4fa0-9e51-8924304e1499",[210,42],[212,304,42],"0b16efb3db6165f2311a31e04c8f874f8c569a4cc6cc219a3295cdfa9110b8b8","Grok Bot is not what you think\nplus skills and tools to try with agents\n\n\nnostr:naddr1qvzqqqr4gupzqzcka7eakct97gc35v0qfj8cwnuv26dye3kvyxdr99wdl2g3pw9cqqjrvepnxuur2v33956ryvfe956xvcfs95uk2df395urjv35xvcrgef3xsunjxku0za ",1786626159,"

Hey folks,

I had early access toGrok Bot, like many others on X posted. Except, I didn’t actually use it . But since it was publicly launched Ihavestarted using it…and, I like it?!

There was a wave of ‘personal agents’ with OpenClaw, then Hermes (not the luxury brand) with many flocking to them. I used them to begin with but then just stopped completely. I can’t quite put my finger on why - one may be because I was just generating shit for the sake of it. Having a shower? Make sure my agent was doing something. Going to sleep? Get my agent on something. Things I used? Zero.

I’m a one-session-at-a-time kinda guy. I hate having to review a ton of agent work (or any work)!

Codex/ChatGPT with its mobile connection was all I needed from an ‘always accessible’ agent that could do stuff on my computer. But Grok Bot’s form factor is slightly different, and it’s pretty nice.

You ‘personify’ your agents. Each gets a system prompt e.g. “you are ben’s money manager agent”, they can send messages to one another, they have access to their own virtual computer (which you can watch them use), you connect your accounts like Gmail, Calendar, Slack, etc (though I ran into several hiccups trying to connect accounts).

I think it’s just less is more. There’s a lot less complexity with it, it feels like you’re messaging a teammate in Slack. You can set up automations really easily with it, and you can even go into ‘teach’ the bot by it watching your screen.

You can effectively do all the same stuff in Codex or Claude, but it’s just a couple of steps more complicated. Maybe I’ll try and mimic the setup in Codex?

Currently, you can only access it if you’re on the $200 plan for Cursor or Grok. And of course Grok Bot is powered by the newly released Grok 4.6… (with 4.7 a couple weeks away). More on that below.

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Headlines

Grok 4.6is a damn good model. It’s near Sol and Fable’s performance on benchmarks, and it’s way cheaper than both. Also see:Grok 4.6 – A field guide.

SpaceX + Cursor is now the #3 frontier lab besides OpenAI and Anthropic (rip Gemini, unless their next model is actually good).

Elon saysGrok 4.7 will be ready in the next 3-4 weeks, and it’s currently being post-trained on SpaceX’s company data to make the modelbest at real-world engineering, if not everything. Themodel card for Grok 4.6also covers many benchmarks beyond coding, where it’s either #1 or #2.

ChatGPT now lets you import and syncyour projects, agent sessions, skills and more from other products like Claude Code.

Your chats started viaClaude’s Chrome extensionare now saved in your account and can be accessed from your Desktop, mobile or web app. That also means the Chrome extension chats can do the work you’d usually open Claude Cowrok for.

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Anopen source version of Grok Bot.
/interface-review- get a detailed analysis of your UI, typography, layout, colour, writing and accessibility.
/show-me- read less text by making your agent respond in these compact styles to present information - component/file trees, diagrams, pseudocode, and more.
Ref- shared planning mode for your team before agents start to build the thing. (read more)
treg- 2,600 agent-friendly tools for seo/geo, social, leads, ads and more.
Caffeine- Keep your Mac awake while you work, then let it sleep when your coding agent waits for you.
Ori Pi- Run Pi directly on all models available via OpenRouter.
Natter- type anywhere on your Mac using your voice, with live transcription. (how it’s different)
Ramp AI Index:disappointing adoption of Fable 5.
givemeanode- rent GPUs & CPUs with the infra handled for you and then let your users use them without any worry.
Hone- AI that works towards outcomes that help your company.
Claude fixed my WiFifrom 200 to 810 Mbps.
Vercel is using asoftware factory of agentsto build their AI SDK, with 35% of PRs coming from the factory.
Beating Pangram’s AI detectionby training a model over the weekend.
How to keep thinking.
Everything hackable will get hacked.
A complete guide to AGENTS.md.

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Afters

github.com/jerber/arc-code\",\"username\":\"jeremyberman\",\"name\":\"Jeremy Berman\",\"profile_image_url\":\"https://pbs.substack.com/profile_images/2053637963943215104/yxlbbPOI_normal.jpg\",\"date\":\"2026-08-12T20:11:55.000Z\",\"photos\":[{\"img_url\":\"https://pbs.substack.com/media/HPi3PWFa8AAtRwC.jpg\",\"link_url\":\"https://t.co/531wS8sxZ0\"}],\"quoted_tweet\":{},\"reply_count\":35,\"retweet_count\":55,\"like_count\":671,\"impression_count\":104592,\"expanded_url\":null,\"video_url\":null,\"video_preview_media_key\":null,\"belowTheFold\":true}\" data-component-name=\"Twitter2ToDOM\">@sama) the other day in front of hundreds of Silicon Valley interns\\n\\nWe talked about:\\n - turning down Goldman Sachs and dropping out of Stanford\\n- how he got Peter Thiel and Paul Graham to take 19-year-old Sam seriously\\n- advice \",\"username\":\"cory\",\"name\":\"Cory Levy\",\"profile_image_url\":\"https://pbs.substack.com/profile_images/2000127039148531712/t23WS1WQ_normal.jpg\",\"date\":\"2026-08-11T06:16:49.000Z\",\"photos\":[{\"img_url\":\"https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!v7TF!,w_1028,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best,fl_progressive:steep/l_play_button_usfui2,w_88,e_colorize:0/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F__ss-rehost__tw-video-preview-13_2087040760793407488.jpg\",\"link_url\":\"https://t.co/vmeyicBwTk\"}],\"quoted_tweet\":{},\"reply_count\":15,\"retweet_count\":23,\"like_count\":333,\"impression_count\":104095,\"expanded_url\":null,\"video_url\":\"https://video.twimg.com/amplify_video/2087040760793407488/vid/avc1/1280x720/MZzUaXJ_HHuwqZK1.mp4\",\"video_preview_media_key\":\"13_2087040760793407488\",\"belowTheFold\":true}\" data-component-name=\"Twitter2ToDOM\">

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",{"_257":202,"_258":309,"_259":310},"ff59d2ce-eb28-4dcb-9cbd-8b406da44ec8",{"_21":309,"_33":311,"_204":312,"_35":313,"_227":314,"_264":314,"_23":234,"_265":315,"_267":316,"_220":42,"_70":-5,"_72":42,"_182":317,"_257":202,"_283":329},"I hate agents.","The article distinguishes between AI chatbots, which answer questions, and AI agents, which perform tasks from start to finish, noting that agents are becoming increasingly cost-effective. It introduces Grok Bot by xAI as an easy-to-use tool for non-coders to build agents, requiring specific X accounts and offering integrations with over 200 apps. The guide provides a step-by-step process for creating a personalized AI news digest agent.","I hated AI agents. Until I tried this new one recently:","https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/6905e0a8-2520-448a-9808-942ac3c635a5_2400x1260.png","2026-08-12T02:55:18","https://ruben.substack.com/p/what-the-f-is-an-agent",{"_21":318,"_185":319,"_187":116,"_70":320,"_213":28,"_214":327,"_216":328},"14d28e7577e9f12233483254b78747fe26c7323a52f69ff2e1b7a90f65814802","e4768b3fddae8c5e24c83c19c174079771e1198c499a34c65fa714e384613bd50fa9d79533fcb165325bc118ca6a8b331f5db6c2ce9b137e5821ca4467c8c1db",[321,322,323,325,326],[220,311],[37,314],[276,324,42,278],"30023:983dd797fe72ad62fc8e3ece7eed1f126550972885c8f835d9af5528dad655a3:ff59d2ce-eb28-4dcb-9cbd-8b406da44ec8",[210,42],[212,28,42],"I hate agents.\nI hated AI agents. Until I tried this new one recently:\n\n\nnostr:naddr1qvzqqqr4gupzpxpa67tluu4dvt7gu0kw0mk37yn92ztj3pwglq6ant649rddv4drqqjxve3489jrycm994jkyv3c956xgcmz95ukxcny95uxydpsxejxzdp5v43nsll9f4q ",1786503318,"

Open LinkedIn for a second and someone will sell you an “agent” that answers emails, updates your CRM, books meetings, washes the dishes, drops your kids off at school…

But what the fuck is an agent?

No one knows:

\"\" — I personally hated the word “*agent*” until now.

That’s why, even though I have over 800,000 people reading my newsletter onHow to AI, I never mention “agents”.

But today, this insanity stops.

You & I both will know what an agent is, and we will build our first one together.

I’ll assume the word “agent” makes you think of James Bond, so we really start from zero.

Our first agent will do something that takes too much of your time: keeping track of AI news (only the one you care about). A simple, safe & useful agent.

For the pros, I added a last section called“How pros use agents”at the end.

Two things before we start:

Save this guide. Block 10 min this week to create your first agent.
Send it to anyone who is scared by the word “agent”. I am also scared btw.

PS: This newsletter grows from yourshares. And I keep hitting 1,000+ shares! It’s my weekly north star. Sharing is free & helps me stay laser focused on mastering AI.

1. ChatbotorAgent?

You’ve been using AI chatbots your whole life: you ask, it answers.

But an AI agent is doing a task, start to finish:

And it’s important to understand the difference.

Because AI agents are getting cheaper than… humans.

It’s a scary image, I know.

But until very recently, I couldn’t care less about agents.

Too clunky to build, too much work to maintain them.

I still think most companies should focus on AI adoption instead of trying to build agents. That’s why my consulting firm - GPC - trains employees before building any agents.

Send me a message if your company has over 100 employees in the US, especially in the manufacturing industry.

And yet, I kept trying to make agents. Easy, useful ones, connected to my apps.

Like technically, when I use Claude Code or Cowork, theyareagents.

\"\" — My Claude Code is “*running tasks*” = withagents.

\"\" — My Claude Cowork also makes littleagentsto do tasks.

But you’re still using it as a chatbot. You ask. It answers.

These were my only “agents”. Until I tried this one:

Subscribe now

2. Theeasiestway to build agoodagent.

I will stop you right there.

I am not paidto write about this company. They just have a good, useful tool to make agents. Especially for us, people who don’t code (or don’t want to).

It’s calledGrok Bot, a tool made by xAI*.

*SpaceX bought xAI, the AI company of X, which makes Grok models.

\"\" — And it looks like this. This is an agent scouting for talent.

On the left: You see my “bots,” or call themagents.

In the middle: When it finishes work, it updates you here. You can also interrupt it anytime to give a new task, or how you feel about its execution.

On the right: You see the agent computer (yes, it has its own computer) and its routine (how often should it perform a task, or many tasks?).

Before I show you exactly how to access it & install it (just go tox.ai/botif you’re in a hurry), here’s an example of an agent I built:

\"\" — Daily use cases of solid AI workflows, connected to Linkedin.

To connect your apps to Grok Bot:

\"\" — You can connect any apps (I think 200+ apps!!).

\"\" — These are mine so far. Apify and Gmail are my favorites.

How to install Grok Bot:

Go tox.ai/bot.
You must have a Cursor Ultra/Teams or Grok Heavy X account.
The least expensive is Cursor Teams ($40/mo).

Once done, we can create our first agent together.

I think it’s much simpler for you if I explain with screenshots:

\"\" — **Step 1**: Click on the + at the top left.

\"\" — **Step 2**: Answer the questions. I prefer the bottom open form. Be very clear on the goal of the agent.

My exact prompt:“Daily digest of AI news in my industry (or very close to it).”

\"\" — **Step 3**: It will keep asking you questions, like how often.

\"\" — **Step 4**: Define what you want more precisely.

My exact prompt:

“What I care about, as a daily digest:
- the top 3 news of AI by joint virality (The Rundown, Google News, what pops on Reddit, cross-check them)
- the top 3 news in the creator economy
- the top 3 news in the consulting business
- readruben.substack.comand update me on a recent \"how to\" guide”

\"\" — That’s what you get, until you say you want it differently.

\"\" — Here I asked to send it to me via Gmail instead.

Now this was one agent. A simple one, useful, fast to make.

But here’s my recipe to create an advanced agent (it’s a copy & paste prompt):

",[],"selectedArticleImage","rootArticleImageUrl","consensusHtml","tweets",[],"userSchema","relatedArticles",[260,287,310],"actionData","errors"]

Grok Bot Expands AI Agents Into Collaborative Digital Teammates

Couverture de l'histoire