How Do I Add Custom Rules to Grok Bot?

Short answer

Open Settings → General and scroll to Custom Rules under Bot. Type the action in plain words under “When Grok Bot wants to:”, choose Allow automatically or Ask first under “It should:”, then click Add Rule.

As of Oct 26, 2026 (Grok Bot desktop app v0.75.8).

Grok Bot Custom Rules form: a "When Grok Bot wants to:" text box with the example "e.g. reply to emails for me", and the "It should:" dropdown open with Allow automatically and Ask first, next to an Add Rule button

Steps

Press Ctrl+, → General, then scroll to Custom Rules.
Write one short rule per action, as the app asks. For example: “send an email”, “post on X”, “buy something”, “delete files”.
Pick Ask first or Allow automatically, then click Add Rule.

Rules worth adding on day one

When Grok Bot wants to…	It should
send an email or message	Ask first
post or publish anything	Ask first
buy, pay or book something	Ask first
delete files or records	Ask first

Custom rules vs. custom instructions

Rules control what needs your OK. To change how a Bot works (tone, steps, format), tell it in chat and ask it to remember, or save a skill. Rules only work while Auto-review is on, and xAI notes that Ask first beats Allow automatically when rules conflict.