Getting started: why your bot uses a lot at first, and how to keep it lean after Beginner

3 min read

Heavy use in your first days with a bot is normal. Here is why, and the setup habits that keep every run cheap afterward.

Heavy use at the start is normal

Your first days with a bot use more of your plan than any time after. That's expected. The bot is learning your accounts, signing in for the first time, trying different ways to do each job and figuring out what works. Some of that setup can only happen by clicking through screens, and that's the expensive kind of work. Don't panic when you see a big number in week one.

The real win comes after setup

What matters is how much the bot uses once everything is running. A job that runs every day for a year costs far more over time than the day you spent setting it up. Spend a little extra up front choosing the cheapest way for each job to work, and you'll save on every single run afterward.

Why screenshots are expensive

When a bot works a website like a person does, it takes a picture of the screen, decides where to click, clicks, and takes another picture. Each picture is a lot for it to read. Getting the same information straight from the service as a small, tidy answer costs a tiny fraction of that.

During setup, pick the cheapest route for each job

1. A connector, a built-in link to an app like Gmail or Google Drive; use one if it exists. See Connecting apps.
2. An API or a simple script; the bot asks the service directly and gets back plain data.
3. A script that reads the web page; the bot reads the page's text instead of pictures of it.
4. Clicking with screenshots; save this for one-time setup steps or when nothing else works.

Setup habits that keep things cheap later

• Make routines quit early when there's nothing to do. A check every 15 minutes should stop right away if nothing is new.
• Run routines only as often as you need. Once a day is often plenty. See Routines.
• Skip "keep me logged in" jobs if your saved login works without a code.
• Ask for files, not screens. Downloading a report and letting a script read it beats paging through it.
• Check in weekly. Ask your bot which jobs still use the browser and whether there's a cheaper way, and approve changes yourself.

Facts about the Grok Bot app come from Cursor's official Grok Bot documentation. Menus and plans change; if something looks different, check the official docs or ask your bot.