This is a Botski briefing of public official pages. It is not a new product announcement dated today.
How first, then when
Skills and routines uses two building blocks. A skill is a reusable set of instructions for how to do a task. A routine tells one Bot when to run a workflow — on a schedule or, where supported, after an event.
Official order is short: start with a one-time task. Make it reliable. Save the method as a skill. Only then automate it.
Grok Bot 101 shows the same habit in daily work: stand a Bot up, tweak it, reuse it, then let it run after you close the laptop. Chat is how you prove the job. A routine is how you repeat a job that already works.
Save the method with sources and the stop line
A useful skill, in official language, states when to use it, required inputs and access, the sequence of work, how to validate the result, what to return, and what requires approval.
Ask the Bot to save the process you just used, and name those pieces. Include the source systems and the rule that consequential contact or sends always wait for you.
Grok Bot for Support calls the next step “self-driving”: take a workflow you already created and turn it into a routine that repeats. Review the results on your own schedule. Do not schedule a job you have not watched succeed once.
If the source is missing, say so
When you create a routine, official docs want you to confirm the owning Bot, the schedule and time zone, the input source, the expected result, the approval boundary, and what should happen when a source is missing.
The example on Skills and routines is the line to keep: if the source data is unavailable, report the failure instead of using old data.
A test run performs real work. Use safe inputs and keep write actions behind approval. Pause a routine when the source system or expected workflow changes.
Independent, not xAI
Botski is an independent project. These notes help beginners read official public pages. They are not official xAI documentation, and Botski is not endorsed by X, xAI, or Grok.
If you want a first job written down before you open the official app, use Plan your bot on Learn. Official skill and routine rules stay at Skills and routines.