Grok Bot vs ChatGPT Agent: Set Up Grok Bot And Work (2026)

Grok Bot vs ChatGPT agent is now a setup question about two live tools, because OpenAI switched ChatGPT agent off and moved that work into ChatGPT Work.

The ChatGPT agent help article opens by saying ChatGPT agent is no longer available.

It sends you to ChatGPT Work for long, multi-step jobs with a finished file at the end, and to the cloud browser for supported browser tasks.

Read that article with care: the old usage limits and the old /agent instructions are still printed further down the page, but they describe the retired tool.

So this walkthrough sets up Grok Bot next to ChatGPT Work, OpenAI's replacement, and shows the exact settings I'd touch first on each.

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What you are actually setting up in 2026

ChatGPT Work is one of three modes in ChatGPT, next to Chat and Codex, per the ChatGPT Work and Codex help page.

Chat is for quick answers, Codex is for software, and Work is the agent for longer jobs that end in a document, sheet, deck, report or Site.

Grok Bot is a different shape: the Grok Bot overview describes named Bots with jobs and memory that carries over between sessions.

One gives you an agent mode inside a chat app.

The other gives you a small team of named workers.

That difference drives every setting below.

Grok Bot vs ChatGPT Work: the setup table

Setting	Grok Bot	ChatGPT Work
Where work runs	One persistent cloud computer per account, shared by all your Bots, each Bot on its own screen	Cloud on web and mobile; local or cloud on the desktop app
Local files	Your own computer stays separate unless you allow commands on it	Desktop app only, with your permission per folder
Browser	Browser on the Bots' shared cloud computer	Cloud browser on a separate cloud computer
Desktop apps	Works through its cloud computer and connected apps	Computer Use on macOS and Windows, per-app permission
Repeat work	Skills plus routines on a schedule or event	Scheduled Tasks: once, repeat, trigger or monitor
Approvals	Auto Review, approval cards, Ask first rules	Website access settings, action confirmations, desktop permission modes
Output	Files plus pages in each Bot's Library	Docs, sheets, decks, PDFs, reports and Sites
Plans (names only)	Premium, Super, Ultra on The X Subscription	Desktop on all plans; web and mobile on Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, Edu

No official source from xAI or OpenAI compares the two, so every row is my reading of each vendor's own docs.

Step 1: Open Work and give it a scoped first job

On the web or phone, open ChatGPT and pick Work instead of Chat.

On desktop, choose ChatGPT from the menu, then flip the toggle to Work.

Start inside a project if you have one, because a project keeps related chats, files and instructions together.

OpenAI's getting-started guide says good first tasks have a clear outcome, a few source files and an output you can review.

So I'd hand it something like this:

Use the attached price list and last quarter's job sheet.
Build a one-page service menu as a document and a matching spreadsheet.
Flag any price that looks inconsistent. Return drafts for my review.

The ChatGPT Work product page also lists Plan mode, where Work asks questions and writes a step-by-step plan you approve before it starts.

Use Plan mode on anything that touches customers.

Step 2: Lock the cloud browser before its first sign-in

Per the cloud browser help page, Work browses from a remote machine that OpenAI runs, apart from your laptop.

That browser carries on after you close the tab or shut the lid, and it stops when it needs input, a sign-in or a confirmation.

Open Settings, then Cloud browser, and check website access.

Always ask is the default and reviews every new site.

Auto approve lets ChatGPT review the address and only stop you when a site looks unsafe.

Always allow opens every site, and OpenAI itself says it is not recommended.

I'd stay on Always ask for the first week, then allow the handful of sites you use every day one by one.

Sign-ins go through a secure form; the model never sees the username or password, and a separate review model checks the request for phishing first.

Bookings, payments and other hard-to-undo steps still need your confirmation in chat, whatever the site setting says.

Step 3: Pick a desktop permission mode and allow apps one at a time

On desktop, Work can use local files and apps, and the Permissions docs give you a mode picker under the composer.

Start with Ask for approval, which keeps Work inside the current workspace and pauses before it reaches past it.

Approve for me keeps the same boundary but sends crossing requests to automatic review.

For desktop apps, open Settings, then Computer use, and turn on Any App, per the Computer Use docs.

It works on macOS and Windows, asks before it touches each app, and lists the ones you trust under Always-allowed apps.

On a Mac, grant Screen Recording and Accessibility when prompted, or it can't see or click anything.

One gotcha: messages and task context may sit in the cloud even when the work itself runs locally.

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Step 4: Turn a tested Work prompt into a scheduled or event task

The Scheduled tasks docs say to test a prompt in a normal chat first, then schedule it.

Work tasks can run once, repeat on a schedule, watch for a change, or fire on an app event.

Event triggers cover new Gmail messages, new messages in chosen Slack channels and GitHub pull request activity.

Create event triggers on the web or the phone; the desktop app shows them but can't edit their conditions.

One task can stack several event triggers, but it can't mix an event with a time schedule.

For Slack, add @ChatGPT to every channel the task watches.

Cloud tasks run with your computer off; a task that needs local files needs the computer on and the app open.

When a new email arrives from bookings@ with "quote" in the subject,
summarize the request, draft a reply with our standard rates sheet attached,
and leave the draft unsent for me.

Step 5: Create your first Bot and connect its apps

In Grok Bot, setup is a message, not a builder.

Create a Bot, name it after the job, and describe what finished work looks like.

Then open Connect apps from the sidebar, add Gmail, Slack or Notion, and finish each sign-in, as the computer and apps docs walk through.

Check the app shows under Installed; Added only means it is installed, not signed in.

Remember the shared-computer rule before you add anything.

Every Bot on your account uses one cloud computer, so cookies, files and command-line credentials are visible to all of them.

Each Bot gets its own screen on that computer, and the docs say the screens are work surfaces, not security walls.

If one Bot shouldn't use a login, don't put that login on the computer.

Step 6: Write Ask first rules before anything runs unattended

Auto Review is on by default, and the approvals docs show an approval card whenever an action needs your OK.

You get Allow once, Always allow or Deny.

Go to Settings, then General, then Bot, and add Custom Rules in plain words.

I'd add three Ask first rules on day one:

Ask first: sending any email or Slack message to a customer
Ask first: publishing or changing anything on our website
Ask first: any purchase, refund or change to billing

Ask first always beats an Allow rule when both match.

Cards raised by background work expire after 30 minutes, so check the app if a routine seems stuck.

For logins, the Bot tries Vault first, then a password manager, then a Secure Form, and it hands you the screen for passkeys or a site that needs a human.

Step 7: Save the skill, then add the routine

The skills and routines docs give the order: run the job once, save it as a skill, then automate it.

A routine can start on a schedule or on a Slack message, a GitHub, Linear, Sentry or PagerDuty event, an email to the Bot's own address, or a webhook.

Set the time zone under Settings, then Bot, then Timezone, before you schedule anything.

A new routine waits for its next slot, so press Test to try it now.

Routines run in the cloud with your laptop shut.

The Grok Bot changelog adds that webhook routines now show their URL in the routine menu.

Gotchas I'd plan around on each side

Work's cloud browser keeps its own cookies; it never sees the tabs, passwords or sign-ins in your normal browser.
Some sites block automated browsers on both tools, so plan for a hand-off.
On web and mobile, Work can't open files on your computer at all.
Spoken approval isn't supported in Work on web and mobile; tap the on-screen control.
Grok Bot runs one computer-use task per Bot at a time on its screen.
Grok Bot pages are still rolling out and aren't on Enterprise teams yet.

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Two small-business setups, step by step

A plumbing firm on ChatGPT Work

The owner opens Work in a project holding the price list and job templates.
An event task watches Gmail for new messages with "quote" in the subject.
Each run reads the request, fills the quote template as a document and drafts a reply.
The draft stays unsent until the owner reviews it on the phone.

A hair salon on Grok Bot

The owner creates a Bot called Front Desk and connects Gmail and the booking site through its browser.
A routine runs every weekday at 7:00 AM and checks the day's bookings.
Front Desk drafts reminder emails from its own address; routine emails wait as drafts until someone presses Send.
A second Bot, Socials, picks up the shared files and drafts the week's post captions for approval.

Which one I'd set up for which job

Pick ChatGPT Work if the job ends in a file or a Site: a proposal deck, a cleaned spreadsheet, a monthly report, a booking-form web page.

Pick ChatGPT Work if you need it to touch desktop apps or local folders on your own machine.

Pick Grok Bot if the job is ongoing and owned by a role: inbox triage, daily checks, follow-ups, work split between several Bots.

Pick Grok Bot if your triggers come from Linear, Sentry, PagerDuty, a webhook or an email address the Bot owns.

Running both is fine; give each one its own lane and its own approval rules.

For the coding side of OpenAI's lineup, my Grok Bot vs Codex setup covers that split.

For the setups we use every week, the AI Profit Boardroom has the walkthroughs.

Plans you need for each (names only)

Grok Bot is included on Premium, Super and Ultra on The X Subscription, and the X Subscription page says Plus doesn't include it.

ChatGPT Work runs on desktop for all plans and on web and mobile for Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu, per OpenAI's product page.

The cloud browser and event triggers skip Free and Go.

Workspace owners and admins on business plans can switch Work Cloud and Work Local on or off per role in Permissions and roles.

Also On Our Network

FAQ: Grok Bot vs ChatGPT Agent

Can I still type /agent in ChatGPT?

No. OpenAI says ChatGPT agent is no longer available. The /agent steps still printed lower on the help article belong to the retired tool; use Work instead.

Which cloud browser setting should I start with?

Keep the default, Always ask, so you review every new website. Then allow the few sites you trust one at a time.

Where do I create a Gmail-triggered Work task?

On ChatGPT web or the mobile app. The desktop app can show event-triggered tasks but cannot create or edit their trigger conditions.

Do Grok Bots each get a separate computer?

No. All your Bots share one cloud computer, and each Bot gets its own screen on it. Files, cookies and logins on that computer are available to every Bot.

What is the first Grok Bot rule to add?

An Ask first rule for messages to customers. Ask first rules always stop matching actions, even when an Allow rule also matches.

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About Julian

I'm Julian Goldie, an SEO entrepreneur, author and founder of the AI Profit Boardroom, which has 3,400+ members.

I help business owners scale with AI agents, automation and SEO.

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