SpaceXAI's Grok chatbot is now available as a free add-on for Google Workspace, giving users of Google Docs, Sheets and Slides an AI assistant inside the same side panel where Google's Gemini already appears. A single installation covers all three editors, and the add-on is listed on the Google Workspace Marketplace at no cost. It can be installed by individual users or deployed across an entire organization by Workspace admins.
Installation is handled through the Marketplace, where users click Install, select the Google account they want to use and click Continue. Users who prefer to stay inside a file can reach the same add-on through Extensions, then Add-ons, then Get add-ons in Docs, Sheets or Slides. After installation, users open the panel via Extensions, then Grok, then Open Grok, and sign in when prompted.
The permission request is broad. Grok asks for permission to see, edit, create and delete all Google Docs files and every Slides presentation in the account, regardless of which file the installation started from. Its Sheets access is narrower and covers only spreadsheets where the add-on has been installed, while its Drive access extends only to files used with Grok. It also requests permission to connect to an external service, which lets Grok send what it reads to SpaceXAI.
Inside Docs, Grok can write directly onto the page and produce drafts with headings and lists, with its changes appearing as visible revisions in version history. With connectors enabled, it can pull context from recent emails or Drive files. In Slides, it can build a deck from an outline, add slides that match the existing theme and research topics from the web or from X. In Sheets, it can read selected ranges, answer with citations, point to specific cells, write formulas into the formula bar, insert charts and rerun scenarios when an assumption changes, with each change recorded as an ordinary edit that can be undone.
Grok's free availability stands in contrast to Gemini, which is built into Workspace by default and opens from the Ask Gemini icon in Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drive and Chat. Gemini is not free: work accounts need an eligible Workspace plan, and personal accounts need a Google AI Plus, Pro or Ultra subscription.
Grok is the only one of the two that draws research from X into generated content, though whether that is an advantage is debatable. Gemini reaches more apps, including Gmail, Drive and Chat, while Grok is limited to Docs, Sheets and Slides, a gap that connectors can partly close by giving Grok access to Gmail and Drive files. For users who do not pay for Gemini, Grok is the simplest free route to an AI side panel in Workspace, provided they accept the access it requests.
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