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GROK BOT / when-desktop-plus-only-creates-a-bot

When desktop (+) only offers Create Bot

when-desktop-plus-only-creates-a-bot

Use this when you want a new empty chat or a group chat on the Grok Bot desktop app and the (+) control only offers Create Bot. Group chats are still there. Staff gave a shortcut and a command-palette path. This page is desktop only. Checked Oct 16, 2026.

Cursor staff (kevinn) said on forum thread 174924 on Oct 15, 2026 that the (+) button opening Create New Bot was an intentional change in 0.71. Group chats are still there, but there is no longer a visible way to reach them from the main UI. Press Ctrl+Shift+N (Windows or Linux) or Cmd+Shift+N (macOS), or open the command palette with Ctrl+K / Cmd+K and choose New group chat, then pick a single Bot and press Enter. That opens a new room with just that Bot and an empty conversation. Your existing 1:1 chat stays where it is. Staff said they passed the feedback to the team.

The Bot changelog on x.ai lists nothing after v0.70.2. This page does not cite a 0.71 changelog entry or 0.71 release notes. Staff called the (+) change an intentional change in 0.71. Users have also reported 0.71.2. Those are not a changelog citation.

Start a new room on desktop

  1. Press Ctrl+Shift+N or Cmd+Shift+N, or open the command palette with Ctrl+K / Cmd+K and choose New group chat.
  2. Pick the Bot or Bots for the room. Staff's empty 1:1 path is: pick a single Bot and press Enter.
  3. For a group, pick more than one Bot in that same picker. Official docs still cap a group at two to six Bots. See Start a Grok Bot group chat.
  4. Confirm the old 1:1 conversation is still in the sidebar. Staff said it stays where it is.

Creating a new Bot is a different job. If (+) is now Create Bot, that matches staff's desktop change. Follow Create a new Grok Bot when you actually want another teammate.

Mobile docs are a different page

Mobile still says: use the + control on the home screen to choose New Bot or New Group Chat. Message and collaborate still says: on iPhone or Android, use + → New Group Chat. Those are mobile docs. The 0.71 change staff described was reported on desktop (Windows). Whether mobile also changed is not documented. This page does not claim mobile changed.

The official desktop group-chat steps still describe New in the sidebar and picking two to six Bots. Staff said there is no longer a visible way to reach group chats from the main UI, and gave the shortcut and palette instead. This page names both and does not rewrite the mobile docs.

Related

Pitfalls

  • Assuming group chats were removed. Staff said they are still there.
  • Looking for a 0.71 line on the Bot changelog. That page still stops at v0.70.2.
  • Applying this (+) change to iPhone or Android. Staff's note was desktop. Mobile docs still show + → New Group Chat.