How to use Grok online, step by step

This guide walks you through our free Grok chat from the first message to sharing a finished conversation. You need nothing except a browser: no account, no download, no card. Everything below works the same on a laptop and on a phone. At the end you will find a short, honest note on how our site differs from the official Grok on grok.com and X, so you can pick the right place for each job.

Before you start

Open the chat page. The big box at the bottom is the composer, the model name sits at the top, and the sidebar on the left (behind the menu button on phones) holds your past conversations. That is the whole layout. There is nothing to configure before your first question, and you can change the light or dark theme and the interface language at any time.

Two facts shape everything else. First, the answers come from real Grok models made by xAI, reached through a cloud API; we do not run the models ourselves, and our site is independent, not run by xAI or X. Second, the chat has no internet access. Grok here answers from what it learned in training, plus whatever you put in the conversation.

Step 1: write your first message

Type into the composer and press send. Grok streams the answer word by word, so you can start reading straight away. If the answer is heading the wrong way, press stop; you do not have to wait for it to finish.

Short questions are fine as they are. For anything you will actually use, a sentence or two of context changes the result a lot:

Vague:
Write a message to my landlord.

Better:
Write a short, polite message to my landlord. The kitchen tap has
leaked for a week and I reported it on Monday with no reply. I want
a repair date this week. Firm but friendly, under 100 words.

The first version forces Grok to guess the problem, the tone and the length. The second leaves nothing to guess. Try the landlord example yourself and compare.

Once an answer arrives, you have three ways to improve it. Reply with a correction ("shorter, and drop the last paragraph"). Regenerate it to get a fresh version and switch between the versions. Or edit your original message and resend it when the question itself was off. Code arrives in formatted blocks that are easy to copy.

Step 2: choose a model

Click the model name at the top of the chat to open the model menu. Your choice is saved with each conversation, so an old chat reopens with the model you used in it.

If you are not sure, stay on Grok 4.20 and switch only when an answer feels shallow or a calculation looks wrong. Our guide to reasoning models explains when the wait for Grok 4.3 Thinking pays off, and the Grok 4.20 page lists what the default model can do. You can also open the chat with a model already picked, for example Grok 4.3 Thinking.

Step 3: add an image

All three models can read pictures. Use the image button next to the composer to attach one image per message: a photo of a worksheet, a screenshot of an error, a chart, a label in a language you do not read. Then say exactly what you want from it.

Weak:
[photo] thoughts?

Strong:
[photo of a utility bill] Explain each line of this bill in plain
words, then tell me which charges are fixed and which depend on use.
If any number is hard to read, say so instead of guessing.

Grok describes and reasons about images; it does not create them. You can attach up to 10 images a day. Crop out anything private before you send, such as faces of other people, addresses or account numbers.

Step 4: use assistants and ready-made prompts

You do not have to write every instruction from scratch. The assistants are 16 ready-made roles for jobs such as studying, editing and coding, each with its own standing instructions. Pick one and start typing; the role stays active for that conversation.

The prompt library holds tested prompts sorted by topic, from study to career. Each opens in the chat with blanks in square brackets for you to fill in. For repeat jobs there are 12 single-purpose AI tools, such as the summarizer and the email writer: you paste text into a form, and the tool builds the prompt for you. Tool requests count toward the same daily allowance as the chat.

Step 5: find, keep and share conversations

Every conversation is saved automatically in the sidebar. You can search it, rename a chat, pin the ones you return to and delete the rest. All of this lives only in your own browser on your own device. We do not keep a copy, which also means two things: a different browser or phone will not see the same history, and clearing your browser data erases it.

To keep a backup or move to another device, export your chats to a file, then import that file on the other side. To show a conversation to someone, create a share link. It opens a read-only copy at an address starting with grok.online/s/, and anyone with the link can read it. Shared pages are kept out of search engines, and you can ask for one to be removed through the contact form. Share only what you would be happy for a stranger to see.

Limits and what this chat cannot do

• 30 free messages a day. The counter shows how many you have left. The allowance is shared with the tool pages and resets daily.
• Grok 4.7 has its own cap. At most 10 of your daily messages can go to Grok 4.7. When they are used up, the chat moves you to Grok 4.20 and tells you so.
• No internet. Grok here cannot open links, look up today's news or read X. Its knowledge stops at a cut-off date, so check anything recent elsewhere.
• Images in, text out. You can attach pictures, but not PDFs or other files, and the chat does not create images.
• Long chats get trimmed. In a very long conversation the oldest messages stop reaching the model. Start a new chat with a short recap when that happens.
• Answers can be wrong. Treat medical, legal and money questions as general information, and see how to fact-check AI answers.

How this differs from the official Grok

Grok is built by xAI. SpaceX acquired xAI in February 2026, and the AI business has since been branded SpaceXAI and, from October 2026, SpaceXSI. Its own Grok lives at grok.com, inside X and in its mobile apps. There you sign in with an X or e-mail account, and the official service offers things ours does not: live search of the web and of X posts, voice conversations, image and video creation with Grok Imagine, file uploads and memory across chats. Its free tier has limits too, and paid plans raise them.

Our site is a simpler, independent option: no account, the same model family for text and image questions, history that never leaves your browser, and an interface in 26 languages. Use the official Grok when you need current information or its extra features; use ours for quick, private-feeling chats without signing up. Our page on using Grok in a web browser compares the options in more detail, and what is Grok covers the background.

FAQ

Do I need an account to use Grok here?

No. Open the chat and type. There is no sign-up, and your conversations stay in your browser rather than in an account.

Is this the real Grok?

The answers come from real Grok models by xAI, sent through a cloud API. The website around them is ours and is not run or endorsed by xAI, SpaceX or X, so features such as search and voice from the official service are not here.

Why did my chat switch to Grok 4.20?

You have used your Grok 4.7 messages for today. The chat moves you to Grok 4.20 so you can keep going, and Grok 4.7 is available again after the daily reset. Grok 4.3 Thinking is a good alternative for hard questions in the meantime.

Can I use it on my phone?

Yes. The chat works in any modern mobile browser. The sidebar opens from the menu button, and you can attach a photo straight from the camera roll.

Does Grok remember me between conversations?

No. Each new chat starts from zero. Your old chats are saved in the sidebar for you to reopen, but Grok does not read them unless you continue in that same conversation.