Skill
In plain English
A skill is how to do a task: a saved method you can reuse instead of retyping the steps.
Example
You like the way a Bot summarized a document. You save that pattern as a skill. Next time you can ask for the skill instead of retyping the rules. You add a second Bot. It can see the same private skill library. It still uses the same one computer. You install a packaged skill from the pluginA plugin is an optional piece of software that adds a feature to a larger application. shelf. That is not the same as adding someone else’s Bot from a templateA template is a recipe for a Grok Bot, not a clone of someone’s computer or chat..
Why it matters
A good way to do a task should not live only in one chat that you will never find again. A skill is that saved method.
Official Grok BotGrok Bot is xAI’s product for named AI teammates that carry out tasks with tools and a persistent cloud computer shared by the Bots on one account. docs put skills next to routines. The split is easy to lose: a skill is how, a routineIn Grok Bot, a routine tells one Bot when to run a workflow: on a schedule or, where supported, after an event. A test of a routine does real work. is when.
A templateA template is a recipe for a Grok Bot, not a clone of someone’s computer or chat. can carry skills. The recipient gets those instructions, not the sender’s files. Private skills are one library the Bots on your account share. They are not a separate vault per Bot.
Grok BuildGrok Build is xAI’s coding agent, a different product from Grok chat and from a Grok Bot. skills are a different shelf, for the coding agentA coding agent is an AI agent that works on software tasks by reading a project, changing files, and using development tools, then preparing the changes for review.. Same word, different product.
Common confusion
A skill is how. A routineIn Grok Bot, a routine tells one Bot when to run a workflow: on a schedule or, where supported, after an event. A test of a routine does real work. is when. In Grok BotGrok Bot is xAI’s product for named AI teammates that carry out tasks with tools and a persistent cloud computer shared by the Bots on one account., a test of a routine can do real work. It is not automatically a dry run. A Grok BuildGrok Build is xAI’s coding agent, a different product from Grok chat and from a Grok Bot. skill belongs to the coding product, not to a Grok Bot.
Sources
Updated September 30, 2026.