Leaked Code Reveals Grok's Potential Expansion into Spreadsheet Editing and File Management

Leak reveals Grok might soon edit your spreadsheets | TechCrunch

Leaked code suggests xAI is developing an advanced file editor for Grok with spreadsheet support, signaling the company's push to compete with OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft by embedding AI copilots into productivity tools. "You can talk to Grok and ask it to assist you at the same time you're editing the files!" writes reverse engineer Nima Owji, who leaked the finding. TechCrunch has reached out to xAI to confirm the findings and learn more. xAI hasn't explicitly detailed its strategy for pursuing interactive, multimodal AI workspaces, but it has dropped a series of announcements that point to how the company is thinking about these tools. In April 2025, xAI launched Grok Studio, a split-screen workspace that lets users collaborate with Grok on generating documents, code, reports, and browser games. It also launched the ability to create Workspaces that let you organize files and conversations in a single place. While OpenAI and Microsoft have similar tools, Google's Gemini Workspace for Sheets, Docs, and Gmail appears to be the most similar to what xAI is reportedly building. Google's tools can edit Docs and Sheets and allow you to chat with Gemini while looking at or editing documents. The difference is that Gemini Workspace only works within Google's own ecosystem. It's not clear what types of files xAI's editor might support aside from spreadsheets, or whether xAI plans to build a full productivity suite that could compete with Google Workspace or Microsoft 365. If Owji's findings are true, the advanced editor would be a step towards Elon Musk's ambitions to turn X into an "everything app" that includes docs, chat, payments, and social media.

Oh great - Grok could soon "help" you at work by editing your spreadsheets and other work documents

No official confirmation, but xAI is keen to keep up with its rivals Far from simply taking over the social media world, xAI is reportedly now building a new feature for its Grok model which would allow it to access and edit documents and files. Leaked code has suggested xAI is developing an advanced file editor for Grok, with spreadsheet support taking center stage, as it looks to widen its appeal and draw in more users. The move might mean users get more tools and features to tighten up their work, but at the risk of having files analyzed (and possibly uploaded to) Grok's systems, and even X itself. Reverse engineer Nima Owji, who leaked the findings on X, noted the tool will allow users to talk to Grok and ask it to assist them as they are editing the files. It's not clear why only spreadsheets are involved, instead of documents, slideshows, or image creators - but the move looks to be part of a campaign from xAI to compete with much bigger rivals OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft - all of which have already embedded smart AI copilots into their productivity tools. X owner Elon Musk has been publicly clear about his aims to turn the service into an "everything app" capable of handling a wide number of everyday tasks. Recently, the company launched Grok Studio, which lets users collaborate with the service via a split-screen interface, allowing them to have help when generating documents, code, reports, and even games. Similar to Google's Workspace online collaboration platform, xAI has also revealed users will be able to create specific Workspaces to keep and organize specific files and conversations in a single location. Google Workspace users can currently communicate with the platform's Gemini AI assistant when creating documents, allowing them to get help or suggestions on specific areas or themes, as well as additional insights from other files or documents. xAI has not commented on the leak, and has yet to respond to a request for comment from TechRadar Pro.

Grok quietly prepares to edit spreadsheets

Reverse engineer Nima Owji reported that leaked code indicates xAI is developing an advanced file editor for Grok, which includes support for spreadsheets, positioning the company to compete with established entities in AI-embedded productivity tools. Nima Owji stated that users would retain the ability to interact with Grok and request assistance concurrently while editing files. This functionality would enable simultaneous conversational AI interaction and document manipulation. Owji disseminated this information via a social media post which included a visual representation of the purported interface, showing Grok assisting within a file editing environment. While xAI has not issued explicit statements detailing a comprehensive strategy for interactive, multimodal AI workspaces, prior announcements from the company have provided indications of its approach to these types of tools. In April 2025, xAI introduced Grok Studio, a split-screen workspace designed to facilitate collaboration between users and Grok. This platform supports the generation of various content types, including documents, programming code, reports, and browser-based games. xAI misses its own AI safety deadline so what now Concurrently in April 2025, xAI also launched a feature enabling the creation of Workspaces, which permits users to organize files and conversations within a consolidated interface. Comparisons have been drawn between xAI's reported development and tools offered by OpenAI and Microsoft. Google's Gemini Workspace, which integrates with Sheets, Docs, and Gmail, appears to exhibit the closest functional resemblance to the alleged xAI offering. Google's Gemini Workspace allows users to edit documents and spreadsheets while concurrently engaging in chat interactions with Gemini. A distinguishing factor is that Gemini Workspace operates exclusively within Google's proprietary ecosystem. Specific details regarding the range of file types, beyond spreadsheets, that xAI's editor might support have not been provided. Furthermore, it remains unconfirmed whether xAI intends to develop a comprehensive productivity suite designed to directly compete with existing platforms such as Google Workspace or Microsoft 365. The development of an advanced file editor, as suggested by Owji's findings, aligns with Elon Musk's stated objective of transforming X into an "everything app." This broader vision for X encompasses functionalities such as document management, chat capabilities, payment processing, and social media integration.

Grok Might Soon Be Able Edit Your Files and Spreadsheets

Elon Musk has said that the upcoming Grok model will see major upgrades Grok, the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot developed by xAI, might soon get a file editor feature. A tipster claimed that the Elon Musk-owned AI firm is working on this feature, which might support different file types, including spreadsheets. It is said to enable users to chat with Grok and ask it to make changes to various documents. If the leaked information is accurate, it can significantly improve the usability of the chatbot. Interestingly, the leak comes at a time when xAI is expected to release the Grok 3.5 AI model. Independent app researcher Nima Owji shared a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) revealing the under-development feature. The tipster also shared a screenshot of the feature, which shows a Grok side panel added to a spreadsheet. In the post, Owji said that xAI is currently working on this file editor feature, which will also support spreadsheets. "You can talk to Grok and ask it to assist you at the same time you're editing the files," the tipster added. Notably, he did not mention the other file types that would be supported by this feature. Grok made a late entry to the AI chatbot space after being launched in November 2023, nearly 12 months after the arrival of ChatGPT and more than six months after the entry of Gemini (previously known as Bard), Copilot and Claude. As a result, the Musk and xAI project has also played catch-up with its competitors. In April, Grok finally received computer vision, multilingual audio support, and a web search tool, features that were previously added by rival services. Similarly, the ability to edit files is already available on other AI platforms. If the leaked information is true, the ability to collaboratively edit files will take Grok ahead of competitors such as ChatGPT and Claude. Currently, only Gemini offers this feature to its paid Workspace users. But the specifics of how the feature will be implemented remain speculative until xAI makes an official announcement. Notably, xAI is also expected to release Grok 3.5 large language model (LLM) soon. As such, this file editing capability could be part of the new AI model.