SpaceX's xAI launches Grok Bot AI agent to handle workplace tasks

Elon Musk's AI company xAI has entered the AI agent market, joining rivals in offering software that performs workplace tasks on behalf of users.

xAI announced Tuesday that it would release Grok Bot, its AI agent, in beta.

Unlike conventional chatbots that answer questions or generate documents, Grok Bot connects directly to software applications and email services to carry out tasks in place of a human user.

xAI described the tool as something users can interact with like a colleague. "You can send it a message and hand off a task," the company said, adding that Grok Bot "completes work from start to finish and only contacts you when approval is needed."

Because it runs in the cloud, Grok Bot continues working even when a user's laptop is closed or they step away. Multiple bots can also exchange messages and divide tasks among themselves for collaborative work.

xAI said it originally developed Grok Bot as an internal prototype, but the tool spread rapidly across the entire company.

Grok Bot became available Tuesday on desktop and iOS, rolling out first to paid subscribers before expanding to others.

AI developers have been racing to release workplace AI agent tools since early this year. Some have drawn predictions that the most capable among them could displace legacy software companies — a scenario dubbed "SaaSpocalypse."

In the enterprise AI agent market, Grok Bot is expected to compete against Anthropic's Claude for Work, OpenAI's ChatGPT Work and Google's Gemini Enterprise Agent.

Grok Bot was developed under the internal code name "Sand" by Cursor, a startup that xAI's parent company SpaceX is in the process of acquiring.

The Information recently reported that SpaceX, anticipating the acquisition will close soon, is considering rebranding Cursor under "Grok," xAI's AI model name.