How to Write a Task the Bot Will Actually Finish

Try this first task

Copy it, paste it into your Bot, and see one real result before you read on.

First task

Outcome: a one-page comparison of [tool A] and [tool B].
Sources: their official pricing and feature pages only.
Constraints: no signups, no trials, every claim needs a link.
Deliverable: a table with price, key features, and best fit, plus 3 lines on which one I should pick.

Steps

1
Outcome
Say what should be true when the work is done, in one sentence. Not the activity, the result.
2
Sources
Name exactly where the facts come from: this file, these links, this dashboard. If the web is not allowed, say so.
3
Constraints
Say what it must not do: do not send, do not change anything, do not guess, stop and ask if a source is missing.
4
Deliverable
Say the exact shape you want back: a 5-bullet list, a 1-page draft, a table with three columns.
5
Stop it if it goes the wrong way
Type "Stop now" to halt the work.
Stopping does not undo actions that already finished, so keep risky steps behind approval instead of relying on Stop.

Copy-paste examples

1. Safe starter — document summary

Outcome: I can understand the attached document in 60 seconds.
Sources: only the attached file.
Constraints: do not edit the file, do not search the web, do not guess missing numbers.
Deliverable: 5 bullets, then a short list of open questions.

2. Dashboard research — read only

Outcome: I know what changed in our signups over the last 30 days.
Sources: the analytics dashboard I am signed into on the shared computer.
Constraints: read only. Do not click any Save, Export, Delete, or Share button.
  Do not change filters that other people rely on. If a login is needed, stop and ask me.
Deliverable: a 3-row table (metric, 30-day change, likely reason) plus one sentence
  saying what you are unsure about.

3. Draft outreach — do not send

Outcome: I have a short email ready for me to review.
Sources: the attached notes and the company's public homepage.
Constraints: DO NOT SEND. Do not open my email account. No invented facts,
  no claims that are not on the homepage.
Deliverable: subject line plus a 120-word email, in plain language.

If something goes wrong

The Bot returns a wall of text

— Your deliverable was vague. Give an exact shape and a length.

The Bot invents facts

— List the sources explicitly and add: if it is not in the sources, write "unknown".

The Bot did something you did not want

— Say "Stop now", then add the missing rule to the Bot profile so it applies next time.

Related guides

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Related skills

Ops

Meeting Notes to Action List

You have messy notes or a transcript and need clear actions.

Open skill →Sales

Research to Outreach Draft

You need research plus short outreach drafts before you send.

Open skill →

After a good run, save it as a skill

When one run works, turn it into a skill so you never write the task again.

Save as skill

Save this task format as a skill called "Tool comparison".
Keep the four parts: outcome, sources, constraints, deliverable.
Confirm the skill back to me in full.

Browse the skills library →

Last updated: August 2026

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Official docs: docs.x.ai/grok-bot/get-started and x.ai/bot.

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