Until recently, X limited the use of its AI chatbot Grok to users who paid for the platform's premium services. However, it now appears that X is preparing to offer Grok to users who use the platform for free.
Over the weekend, several researchers and users reported on social media that there is a free version of Grok, available to people in certain regions.
TechCrunch confirmed that X is testing free access to Grok to users in New Zealand (but it may be testing in other places as well).
See also: X: Using user posts to train AI models?
However, according to a researcher (who goes by the name Swak on X), there are some limitations to usage for now. First, the X account must be at least seven days old and have a phone associated with it. Also, 10 queries per two hours are allowed with the Grok-2 model, 20 queries per two hours with the Grok-2 mini model, and three image resolutions per day.
xAI, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, is behind the creation of the Grok AI chatbot for the X platform, which is also owned by the billionaire. The company released Grok-2 in August with image-generating capabilities, powered by Black Forest Labs’ FLUX.1 model. Late last month, the company also gave the model the ability to understand images.
See also: What do you know about Grok AI and data protection?
All of these features were only available to X Premium and Premium+ users. By opening Grok to free users, xAI likely wants to build a larger user base and gain more feedback for its products so it can better compete with other models on the market like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.
See also: Why Microsoft is trying to turn its AI chatbot into a digital friend
When Musk first introduced the chatbot, he said that Grok is based on the “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” model. It is able to answer questions in a smart, humorous and entertaining way, while also being able to answer “tough questions” that other AI might avoid. Grok was developed by a team of skilled engineers who have worked for major companies such as Google, OpenAI and Deep Mind.
Source: techcrunch.com
