Grok Bot routines are how you get your Bot to do a job on its own, every weekday at 8am, every time a customer emails, or whenever another tool sends a webhook. A routine tells one Bot when to run, and a skill tells it what to do. In the video below, my Grok Bot course goes from beginner to advanced, including automations. Here’s exactly how routines work, the limits, and how to fix one that won’t run, from xAI’s official docs.
Key takeaways
- Skill = reusable instructions. Routine = when one Bot runs it.
- Triggers: schedule, Slack, email, webhook, GitHub, Linear, Sentry, PagerDuty.
- Up to 50 routines per Bot; schedules at least 5 minutes apart.
- Every run spends usage — and Test does real work.
- Want your first routines built for you? Claim a free strategy session.
Skills vs routines
The skills, routines and automations guide separates the two clearly. A skill is a set of reusable instructions, like “check yesterday’s orders and flag anything late”. A routine tells one Bot when to run it.
The guide recommends building up in three steps: do it once as a normal task, turn it into a skill when it works, then automate it with a routine. You can even teach a skill by showing the Bot, which I cover below.
Teach a skill by showing the Bot
When Teach a task is available, you can demonstrate a browser workflow instead of writing out every step. The guide’s steps:
- Open a one-to-one chat with the Bot and its computer view.
- Choose Teach a task and describe the result you’re about to show.
- Do the workflow once, then stop the recording.
- Review the skill the Bot creates, and test it on a safe example before you schedule it.
Teaching records what’s visible on the computer for up to ten minutes, with no microphone audio. Don’t show passwords during the demo; use the secure sign-in flow instead. The skill it creates is a draft, so add decision rules, what to do when something fails, and where it must stop for approval. If you don’t see the button yet, it may still be rolling out: ask the Bot to create a skill from written instructions and a task it already finished.
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Every way a routine can start
| Trigger | Starts the routine when |
|---|---|
| Schedule | A time you set, e.g. every weekday at 8:00 AM |
| Slack | The Bot is mentioned, a phrase appears, you react, or any message arrives |
| Someone emails the Bot’s own address | |
| Webhook | Another tool sends a POST request to the routine’s URL |
| GitHub, Linear, Sentry, PagerDuty | An event happens in that tool |
For a small business, the schedule and email triggers cover most jobs: a morning briefing, a weekly report, or a reply drafted every time a lead emails in.
How to create a routine
You don’t fill in a form. You ask the Bot that should own it. The docs’ example is along the lines of “Every weekday at 8:00 AM, run the Daily customer-risk skill…”. On your phone, open the Bot’s profile and tap Add routine.
Then check three things:
- Time zone. It comes from Settings > Bot > Timezone (Auto-detect by default). The v0.78.1 changelog fixed routines made in a new Bot’s first chat so they run in your time zone, not UTC.
- When to run. Read it back on the routine’s details to be sure it says what you meant.
- The first run. A new routine waits for its next scheduled time, so use Test to try it now.
Careful: Test performs real work. If the routine sends emails, a test sends real emails.
Webhook routines
A webhook routine gives you a POST to URL and a key. The other tool sends its request with the header Authorization: Bearer <key>, and a 200 response means the routine accepted it. That’s how you connect tools Grok Bot doesn’t have an app for, such as a form builder or your online shop.
The changelog also notes that clicking a webhook routine now opens its details, so you can find the URL again easily.
Want this set up for you instead of doing it yourself? Claim your free strategy session →
Managing routines and run history
Each routine has a Details tab with Pause or Resume, Test, Edit and Delete. On your phone you can see the run history, with each run marked Running, Succeeded or Failed. The Bot keeps the 20 most recent run records.
Routines that come from approvals need you to answer reasonably quickly: the FAQ says approvals from routines expire after about 30 minutes.
The official limits
| Limit | Value |
|---|---|
| Routines per Bot | Up to 50 |
| Run records kept | The 20 most recent |
| Shortest schedule gap | 5 minutes |
| Runs per hour, all routines | 300 |
| Runs per hour, one routine | 200 |
Go over the rate limit and you’ll see “Automation run rate limit exceeded”. The docs note a known issue with the shared limit and say runs aren’t retried automatically.
The bigger limit is usage. Every run spends it, and the guide warns that an hourly schedule can use a week of usage in a day. Routines you haven’t used in a long time may also be paused.
If a routine hasn’t run
The docs give a checklist, in this order:
- Is it paused?
- Does When to run say what you expect?
- Is it a new schedule still waiting for its first time?
- For Slack: did the message actually match the trigger?
- For webhooks: did the sender get a 200 back?
And design for trust. The guide suggests routines draft first and require approval before anything that sends, buys, deletes or publishes. That way a routine can do 90% of the job overnight and you approve the last step in seconds.
About Julian Goldie
I’m Julian Goldie — founder of Goldie Agency and the AI Profit Boardroom. I test new AI agents almost every day on my channel, including Grok Bot, and show business owners how to put them to work. Claim your free strategy session or join the AI Profit Boardroom.
Want another angle? Read the AI Profit Boardroom guide to Grok Bot Routines.
FAQ: grok bot routines
What is a Grok Bot routine?
A routine tells one Bot when to run a skill: on a schedule, from Slack, from an email to the Bot’s address, from a webhook, or from GitHub, Linear, Sentry or PagerDuty events.
How do I create a Grok Bot routine?
Ask the Bot that should own it, for example ‘Every weekday at 8:00 AM, run my daily report skill.’ On the phone, open the Bot’s profile and tap Add routine. Then use Test to try it.
How many routines can one Bot have?
Up to 50. Schedules must be at least 5 minutes apart, and there are rate limits of 300 runs an hour across all routines and 200 an hour per routine.
Why didn’t my routine run?
Check it isn’t paused, that When to run is right, that a new schedule isn’t still waiting for its first time, that a Slack message matched, and that a webhook got a 200.
Do routines use my usage?
Yes. Every run spends usage, and the docs warn an hourly schedule can use a week of usage in a day. Test runs also do real work.
Can I teach Grok Bot a routine by showing it?
Yes, where Teach a task is available. You demonstrate a browser workflow for up to ten minutes, the Bot creates a draft skill, and you then schedule that skill with a routine.
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Related reading
Last updated October 2026. This page is a living guide to grok bot routines — the facts here move fast and it is updated as they do.
