Learning how to use Grok for work pays off most for tasks where up-to-date information matters, because Grok searches the web and posts on X live. This Grok guide explains how to get started, when Grok fits alongside ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini, what its features do and what to watch for with work data.
Who makes Grok and where the model comes from is covered in a separate article; this guide is about using it. In the overview of AI models, Grok is listed as the model from SpaceXAI.
How to use Grok: getting started
To use Grok, open grok.com in your browser, install the app for iOS or Android, or start Grok within X, formerly Twitter. The maker is SpaceXAI, as xAI has been called since July 2026, after SpaceX took over the company in February 2026.
In Tesla cars, Grok runs as a conversation partner without access to the vehicle’s functions. Availability varies by country.
You can ask Grok your first work question in three steps.
- Ask about something current in your field, for example: “What reactions were there on X this week to [topic in your field], and from whom?”
- Open the sources under the answer and check whether the posts say what Grok summarises.
- Confirm a claim from X with a second, independent source before you use it.
When Grok fits your work
Grok fits work where up-to-date information matters, because Grok searches the web and posts on X live, with citations. For following news and public reactions to a topic, that connection with X is what sets it apart.
Grok is a less obvious choice for work in Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, where Gemini and Copilot run inside your documents. For current-affairs work, the difference between Grok and ChatGPT lies mainly in that access to X.
Grok’s features
For professional use, Grok consists of four parts.
Search with citations
Grok searches the web and X and lists the sources under the answer, so you can check a claim. Posts on X are fast but unverified, so a source from X needs a second confirmation.
Grok Imagine
Grok Imagine creates images and short videos from a text prompt and adjusts them with follow-up prompts. Imagine drew criticism because users made sexualised images of real people with it; for work, do not create images of recognisable people without their consent.
Files and Canvas
Grok analyses uploaded files and PDFs, and drafts texts in Canvas, a separate window next to the conversation. With memory across conversations and custom instructions, you set Grok up once for your regular way of working.
Grok Build
Grok Build is SpaceXAI’s environment for programming work with Grok models. According to SpaceXAI, the faster variant Grok 4.7 Fast runs only in Grok Build and Cursor, not through the public API.
Grok models and SuperGrok
Grok 4.7 is the current model, released by SpaceXAI on 21 September 2026, with a context window of 500,000 tokens. With SuperGrok, the paid plan, you get higher limits, priority at busy times and multiple agents working on sub-questions at the same time.
New Grok models have not always become available in the EU at the same time: Grok 4.5 was not available in the EU at its launch in July 2026. So check which model is active in your country before you build work around it.
What to watch for with work data in Grok
With work data in Grok, the same rule applies as with any AI assistant. Do not process client personal data in a personal account without a legal basis and a data processing agreement with the provider. In April 2025, the Irish Data Protection Commission opened an investigation into the use of public posts by European X users to train Grok.
Check Grok’s output against the original source before it leaves your organisation, especially for figures and statements by people.
Learning more about Grok
You learn more about Grok one feature at a time, with the articles in this guide covering each one in detail. Grok also appears in our task-by-task overview of which AI is best for writing, research and programming.
For teams that use Grok alongside other tools, the AI Literacy Course covers which data you can enter into an AI tool, in light of the GDPR and duties of confidentiality. It is vendor-neutral and ends with a certificate.
