What Is Grok Bot?
Grok Bot is the persistent AI agent product from xAI, launched in beta on 11 August 2026. Each agent gets its own dedicated cloud computer and runs continuously, rather than waking up only when you send it a message.
xAI markets them as "AI teammates". The behaviour behind the label is specific: an agent signs into tools and websites on its own, learns a workflow by being shown it, retains memory across sessions, coordinates with other agents, and runs 24/7 without supervision.
That is a different shape of product from a chat window. The launch was also crowded: Grok 4.6 shipped the following day, 12 August 2026, so two separate xAI announcements landed inside forty eight hours, which is worth knowing when you read a write-up that references both.
The practical headline for anyone searching "grok bot" is short. It is subscription only, it has no public API, and there is no free tier. AI Perks tracks $7.7M in credits across 194 companies for the parts of an AI stack that do have credit programs. Grok Bot is not one of them, and saying so plainly is more useful than pretending otherwise.
Grok Bot vs the @grok Chatbot: Two Different Products
The free @grok chatbot on X and Grok Bot are separate products that happen to share a name. The chatbot replies to posts. Grok Bot is a paid, always-on agent with its own machine.
| Feature | @grok chatbot on X | Grok Bot |
|---|---|---|
| Where it lives | Replies inside X | Desktop and iOS apps |
| Cost | Free tier available | Subscription only |
| Runs when | You prompt it | Continuously, 24/7 |
| Memory | Per conversation | Persists across sessions |
| Public API | None, see the separate Grok API | None |
| Signs into your tools | No | Yes |
| Coordinates with other agents | No | Yes |
If you arrived looking for the thing that answers when someone tags @grok under a post, that is the chatbot, and it is free. If you want something you can build on programmatically, you want the Grok API, which is a third product again and covered further down.
This disambiguation is worth more than it looks. The phrase "grok bot" can point at any of those three products, and the names give you no way to tell them apart, so the first thing to check on any page about it is which one is actually being described.
How a Persistent Agent Differs From a Chatbot
A chatbot is a request and response loop that forgets. A persistent agent holds state, owns a machine, and keeps working after you close the window.
Four differences change how you would actually use one:
It has somewhere to run. Each agent gets its own dedicated cloud computer, which is what lets it sign into tools and websites by itself instead of waiting for you to paste results into a prompt. A chatbot has no machine of its own, which is why every chatbot workflow starts by re-explaining the context.
It learns by demonstration. You show the workflow rather than describing it in a prompt. The agent retains the procedure, not just the transcript of one conversation.
It keeps memory across sessions. Context does not reset when a session ends, which is the prerequisite for any task that spans more than one sitting.
It works unattended. Running 24/7 without supervision is the entire premise, and it is also the entire risk profile. An agent holding your logins and acting without a human in the loop is a different security conversation from a chat window that can only produce text.
That last point deserves a pause before you grant any agent product access to your accounts, whether it is Grok Bot, ChatGPT Agent or Claude Cowork. The capability that makes these products useful is the same capability that makes them consequential when they are wrong.
Who Can Use Grok Bot, and What It Costs
Grok Bot is gated behind subscriptions, and published sources disagree about which ones. On xAI's own page it is listed with SuperGrok, SuperGrok Plus and SuperGrok Heavy, plus Cursor Pro, Pro+, Ultra, Teams Standard and Teams Premium.
Secondary coverage tells a narrower story. Several write-ups describe real access as limited to the top tiers only, citing figures around $300/month for SuperGrok Heavy, $200/month for Cursor Ultra and $120 per seat per month for Cursor Teams Premium.
Those two accounts conflict. Treat xAI's own product page as authoritative, and treat any price in an article, including this one, as something to verify against your own billing page before you commit to an upgrade.
| Question | Status |
|---|---|
| Free tier | None |
| Public API | None |
| Free trial | None |
| Platforms at launch | Desktop and iOS |
| Android | Described as planned |
| Enterprise access | By waitlist |
| Startup credit program | None at xAI |
The honest advice for most readers is unglamorous: check what your existing subscription already includes before buying a new one. If you already pay for Cursor, you may have access you have not tried. If Grok Bot turns out to sit above your budget, the money usually goes further on stack layers where credits genuinely exist, which is what AI Perks covers.
The Grok API Is a Separate Product Again
If you want to build a Discord bot, a Telegram bot or any programmatic integration on Grok, you use the Grok API. That is not Grok Bot, which has no API at all.
The distinction matters because the access model is completely different. The API is a developer product with its own credits attached, while Grok Bot is a subscription seat with no programmatic entry point at all.
| xAI credit | Amount | What it applies to |
|---|---|---|
| New account API credit | $25/month, reported as current | The Grok API, not Grok Bot |
| Data Sharing Program credit | $150/month, recurring | The Grok API, in exchange for sharing request metadata and outputs |
| Startup credit program | None | xAI runs no dedicated program |
Token pricing varies by model generation, and the published figures differ so widely across sources that quoting one here would be irresponsible. Check xAI's own console for the model you intend to call, not a number in a blog post.
The missing startup program is the more strategic gap. OpenAI and Anthropic both run one. xAI does not, which makes the model layer of an xAI-based stack harder to subsidise than the equivalent layer on a competitor. That is a real cost difference when you are choosing a default provider for a new product, and AI Perks tracks where the credits actually sit across 194 companies.
How Grok Bot Fits the Agent Category
Grok Bot competes directly with ChatGPT Agent and Claude Cowork. All three are attempts at the same idea: an AI that holds a task over time instead of answering one question.
The corporate context explains the distribution model. SpaceX acquired xAI in an all-stock merger announced 2 February 2026. Secondary coverage sometimes calls the combined company SpaceXAI, but xAI has not published a rebrand date, so treat that name as informal. SpaceX and xAI then acquired Anysphere, the parent company of Cursor, in June 2026, which is why a Cursor subscription is one of the routes into Grok Bot at all.
Early reception was mixed on execution rather than concept. One reviewer found the automatic model router "wasn't great" in the early beta, a user experience complaint rather than a structural flaw, and a reasonable thing to find in a product weeks into its first public release.
For teams evaluating the category, the decision rarely turns on capability claims, which are hard to compare and change monthly. It turns on which subscription you already pay for and which layers of your stack you can get covered for free. AI Perks exists for the second half of that question.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Grok Bot free?
No. Grok Bot has no free tier and no public API. It is available only through a subscription, with xAI listing SuperGrok, SuperGrok Plus, SuperGrok Heavy and several Cursor plans. The free product people remember is the @grok chatbot on X, which is a completely different thing with a similar name.
What is the difference between Grok Bot and the Grok chatbot?
The @grok chatbot replies to posts on X and forgets each conversation. Grok Bot is a persistent agent with its own cloud computer that signs into tools, learns workflows by demonstration, keeps memory across sessions and runs 24/7 unattended. Same brand, separate products, separate pricing, separate access models.
Does Grok Bot have an API?
No. Grok Bot has no public API. The separate Grok API is what developers use to build Discord bots, Telegram bots and other integrations, and it carries a reported $25 monthly new account credit. For credits covering the rest of your stack, see getaiperks.com.
How much does Grok Bot cost?
xAI lists it with SuperGrok, SuperGrok Plus, SuperGrok Heavy and Cursor Pro, Pro+, Ultra, Teams Standard and Teams Premium. Secondary coverage claims access is narrower, pointing at roughly $300/month tiers. The sources conflict, so check your own plan and billing page rather than trusting a figure in any article.
Can I get free xAI or Grok credits?
xAI runs no dedicated startup credit program comparable to those at OpenAI or Anthropic. The Grok API has a reported new account credit and an optional data sharing credit instead. For the stack layers that do have real programs, AI Perks tracks $7.7M across 194 companies.
What are the alternatives to Grok Bot?
ChatGPT Agent and Claude Cowork are the direct competitors in the persistent agent category. All three keep state, hold logins and work unattended rather than answering single prompts. Which one is cheapest usually depends on the subscription you already hold. Compare the surrounding stack costs at getaiperks.com.
Grok Bot has no credits. Most of your stack does.