SpaceXAI released a free Grok add-on for Google Workspace in July 2026, and most Workspace users probably don't know it exists. Installing it takes a few clicks. Once it is in place, Grok opens in a side panel inside Google Docs, Sheets or Slides, the same spot where Google's Gemini panel appears.
How do you install Grok in Google Docs, Sheets and Slides?
The add-on is listed on the Google Workspace Marketplace. To install it, open the listing, click Install, choose the Google account you want to use and click Continue. Users who would rather not leave their file can install it from inside Docs, Sheets or Slides by going to Extensions, then Add-ons, then Get add-ons. Workspace administrators can also deploy Grok across an entire organization.
Permissions and privacy
What permissions does Grok need in Google Workspace?
Clicking Continue brings up Google's permission screens, and they are broad. Grok asks for see, edit, create and delete permissions for all Google Docs files and every Slides presentation in the account, even if the user installs it from within a single file. Its access to Sheets is narrower and covers only the spreadsheets where the add-on has been installed. Its overall Drive access extends only to files used with Grok.
Grok also asks for permission to connect to an external service. That permission allows it to send what it reads to SpaceXAI. Anyone handling sensitive documents should read those screens carefully before clicking through.
After installation, users open any document, spreadsheet or presentation, go to Extensions, then Grok, then Open Grok. The panel prompts them to click Get Started and sign in. Once authenticated, Grok works across all three apps.
What Grok does in each app
In Google Docs, Grok writes directly onto the page. It can turn rough notes into a draft with headings and lists, the sort of task most large language models handle. Its edits show up as visible revisions in Google Docs version history. With Grok's connectors turned on, it can also pull context from recent emails or files in Google Drive.
Engadget reviewer Luke James tested the Docs feature by asking Grok to turn notes on installation instructions into a draft. He said the result was "AI slop." He also said he was not willing to give Grok access to his personal email and files, so he connected it to a secondary spam Gmail account and a separate Workspace account instead.
In Slides, Grok can build a deck from an outline and add new slides that match the existing theme. It can research a topic on the web or on X. James was skeptical of the X option. SpaceXAI's use cases page offers examples that users can borrow as prompts. James used one to request a six-slide deck on Grok's track record for accuracy and political bias since 2025, with cited sources on every slide and a closing rating of how reliable Grok is as a source.
In Sheets, Grok can read whatever cell ranges a user selects and answer questions with citations. It can point to specific cells, write formulas into the formula bar and insert charts. It can also rerun scenarios when a user changes an assumption. Each change is applied as an ordinary edit, so it can be undone later.
How Grok compares with Gemini
Google's Gemini comes built into Workspace and opens from the Ask Gemini icon at the top right of Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drive and Chat. It is not free. Work accounts need an eligible Workspace plan, and personal accounts need a Google AI Plus, Pro or Ultra subscription.
Google folded Gemini into its Business and Enterprise plans in January 2025. That move ended a separate add-on that had cost $32 per user per month on top of a Business Standard seat. In July 2026, Google brought its Gemini Spark agentic AI assistant to US subscribers on the paid AI Pro plan.
Is Grok free to use in Google Workspace?
Grok costs nothing to add, and it is the only one of the two that pulls research from X into the material it generates. Whether that is an advantage is debatable. Gemini works with more Google apps, including Gmail, Drive and Chat, while Grok is limited to Docs, Sheets and Slides. Users can narrow that gap somewhat by giving Grok access to Gmail and Drive files through connectors.
James concluded that if you don't pay for Gemini, Grok is the simplest free way to put an AI side panel into Google Workspace, but only if you are comfortable granting the access it requests. If you already have Gemini through a subscription or through work, he wrote, there is little reason to use Grok unless you specifically want it to cite information from X.
Este artículo fue escrito con la asistencia de IA.
News Factory APP - noticias agénticas para impulsar tu SEO y AEO.