Grok is the chatbot from xAI, Elon Musk's AI company, which merged with the social network X and is now part of SpaceX. Grok is available on its own site and app and inside X; it chats, searches the web and X, generates images and video, and has a voice mode. Its main differences from competitors are two things: live access to X posts for breaking news, and a looser tone that refuses fewer requests than the others.

What is Grok good for?#

  • Following breaking news: A journalist or social media activist asks what people on X are saying about a new event and gets a summary of reactions.
  • Trend analysis: A digital marketer finds the hot discussions in a field on X to get content ideas.
  • Generating images and short video: For a humorous post or simple illustration, it makes an image and turns it into a short clip.
  • Programming and reasoning: Grok's newer models are strong at code and math, and a developer can use it like any coding assistant.
  • Voice conversation: In the app you ask questions by voice, for example to practice English conversation.

Strengths and weaknesses#

Strengths:

  • Live access to X content for news and trends
  • Top-tier models in reasoning and code
  • Image and video generation inside the same chatbot
  • Fewer restrictions on topics and tone

Weaknesses:

  • X content is full of rumors and misinformation, and Grok sometimes repeats it
  • It has a history of controversies involving inappropriate replies and fake images of real people
  • Fewer work tools and integrations with other software than ChatGPT and Claude
  • Its policies and features depend on the owner's decisions and can change suddenly

Free version and pricing#

Grok is freemium. The free version gives chat, search and limited image generation with usage caps. Paid subscriptions add higher limits, stronger models, more video generation and experimental features; some features are also unlocked by a paid X subscription. There is a separate API for developers. Check the official site for current prices.

Language support#

Grok understands and writes many languages well. Because it has access to X posts in many languages, it can summarize current discussions in them, but keep in mind that those posts are not a reliable source.

Getting started in three steps#

  1. Sign up on the Grok site or app with email, a Google account or an X account.
  2. Try a current-events question and check the sources it cites.
  3. For image generation, write a specific prompt describing subject, style and mood, and avoid real people's faces.

Grok alternatives#

  • ChatGPT: more stable and with more work tools.
  • Gemini: Google Search and strong image and video generation.
  • Perplexity: for news and up-to-date answers, it brings more reliable sources than a social network.
  • Meta AI: a free assistant inside Instagram and WhatsApp.

For using AI search well, read AI search: when to use it instead of Google and when alongside it, and for image creation, making images with AI: prompts, styles and text. Since fake images are so easy to make, AI scams: fake voices, phishing and how to spot them is worth reading too.