I had to install a shoe rack over the weekend. Grok helped.

We have all done those jobs – IKEA fitouts, the hard ones from China, the unreadable instructions. You get it wrong, pull the screws out and somehow start again.

This weekend I was installing a shoe rack and I had the idea to use Grok to help me out. I have been in deep testing mode with Grok lately – seeing how it stands up to Claude and ChatGPT. Initial feel: it is pretty good.

I gave Grok the instruction manual and asked it to create an HTML file I could follow, and work with Grok if I got stuck. And it worked beautifully.

This was the first attempt – how it started. Then it gave me an HTML file with previous and next, like PowerPoint, to guide me at each step.

First attempt.

As I worked through it, I realised it would be even better if Grok could integrate the instructions with the file. That would make it more helpful.

And it did a fantastic job. You can see the whole file here.

I could talk to it. I could ask questions when I got stuck. It was a fantastic partner to get the job done.

What are you fixing this weekend?