Getting started
You don't have to be a techie. Start small, and stay in charge yourself.
Take the smallest subscription
Choose a subscription you can cancel monthly. Start small and simple, and see whether you come to trust it.
Pick one small annoyance
Something that keeps coming back and takes time. For example the shopping list, or keeping track of which subscriptions you have. Not everything at once.
Let the assistant only think along at first
Ask for a list, an overview or a suggestion. Don't let it send, buy or change anything yet.
Write down your own rules
What may the assistant do on its own, and what never without your yes? For inspiration, have a look at my rules.
Check everything during the first weeks
Read along and correct. An assistant sometimes makes mistakes, just like a person. You quickly learn what to watch out for.
See what it brings you
How much time does it save? And more importantly: what do you use that time for now? A phone call, a walk, an idea of your own?
When do you ask for help?
You can do a lot yourself. If you're unsure, feel free to let someone look along with you, a handy neighbour, friend or grandchild.
About passwords: Grok Bot doesn't want them. You always type a password yourself, never in the chat. So make sure you keep your passwords together and close at hand yourself, on paper or in a password manager.
What do you need?
A computer, tablet or phone, and a subscription to an AI assistant. I use Grok Bot myself. Since 12 October 2026 Grok Bot is part of The X Subscription, from Premium up: $ 30 a month (excluding VAT). More on Cost & time.
Which tools do I use?
The assistants get access to my online mail and my online files. Some assistants also use other programs, depending on their task. You can read which ones in each story.
How does Grok Bot work?
So that it isn't a "black box", here is briefly how it works. Grok Bot has its own computer in the cloud: a computer on the internet that isn't in my home. That's where the assistants do their work. I direct them with ordinary messages in a chat, from my iPad, my phone or my computer. I can also watch along on their screen.
Where possible, an assistant uses a connection with another program. Where that isn't possible, it fills in the details itself via the screen of its own computer.
Creating a new assistant is easy: simply via the chat, or by asking your Chief of Staff.
Difficult words, briefly explained
- Assistant or bot
- A computer program you talk to in ordinary language, and that does tasks for you.
- Connection
- Permission for the assistant to look into another program, such as your mail or calendar.
- Draft
- A first version that hasn't been sent or published yet. You decide what happens with it.
- Going live
- Really putting a website or page online, so everyone can see it.
Every story in the logbook has a short recipe "Getting started yourself" for that one assistant.