Following the announcement of X’s plans to test a three-tiered subscription service, Elon Musk, the owner of X, hinted that his new AI chatbot, xAI’s Grok, would be featured in the top-tier subscription, X Premium+. Recent screenshots from X’s website now offer a sneak peek into the development of Grok within the X app.
Grok, positioned as Musk’s response to AI models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard, boasts a conversational mode with a distinctive personality. Drawing inspiration from “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” Grok is designed to respond with wit and has a rebellious streak. The xAI team emphasizes Grok’s capability to answer “spicy” questions rejected by other AI systems. Importantly, Grok will have access to real-time knowledge through the X platform and web browsing.
Initially released on November 4 to a select group of testers, Musk later announced that all X Premium+ subscribers would gain access to Grok. Positioned as the highest-priced subscription at $16 per month or $168 per year, X Premium+ not only removes ads in the For You and Following feeds but also introduces a Creator Hub where users can monetize their posts and offer subscriptions to fans.
While the X Basic subscription at $3 per month includes features like the edit button and the ability to post longer articles and videos, it lacks ad removal and has weaker reply-boosting capabilities compared to X Premium. The standard X Premium subscription at $8 per month offers ad removal, a Verification checkmark, and supports all Basic features.
Screenshots indicate that the integration of Grok into the X app is already in progress, with the chatbot’s icon prominently placed in the left-side navigation bar for Premium+ subscribers. The icon, a solid black square with a white slash, stands out from other X icons outlined in black.
Non-subscribers clicking on the Grok icon will be prompted to subscribe to Premium+ for access, while subscribers will find a basic chatbot interface to “Ask Grok” questions, with a history button for revisiting past queries.
Although Musk has not specified Grok’s launch date for X subscribers, ongoing development within the X web application suggests an imminent release, possibly with testing phases before a public debut. Despite attempts to seek comments from X, the company, post-communication team layoffs, remains silent. Nevertheless, X’s help documentation mentions that access to Grok on the Premium+ tier is “coming soon.”
The progress of Grok’s development coincides with recent upheaval at OpenAI, as CEO Sam Altman was unexpectedly ousted from the board due to concerns about AI innovation pace and communication breakdown. Altman may potentially join Microsoft as part of its AI team, but the situation is still unfolding.
