Elon Musk’s X (formerly known as Twitter) has a built-in chatbot called Grok. xAI is an artificial intelligence company(AI) company founded by Musk in early 2023, about a year after he bought Twitter. Both X and xAI are privately held companies. Grok started as a chatbot within X. Grok 2 was made available for free on X in December.
Now, xAI has released Grok as a free standalone iPhone app. Here’s a little more about what Grok is, what it does, and how to get it!
The term “grok” comes from Robert A. Heinlein’s 1961 novel, Stranger in a Strange Land. In the book, a Martian uses the term “grok” to convey a deep and full understanding of something on a spiritual, physical, and emotional level. For example, it may take us decades to fully “grok” the impact of artificial intelligence on human life.
Grok launched within X in 2023. Grok-2 became free for all X users less than 1 month ago, in December. Here’s what Grok is according to Grok (on X):
I’m designed to provide helpful and truthful answers to almost any question you might have, often with a fresh, outside perspective on humanity. Think of me as a friendly, cosmic guide, here to assist, inform, and sometimes entertain with a dash of humor or an unconventional viewpoint.
On X, Grok-2 allows users to ask up to 10 questions every 2 hours, analyze up to 3 images per day, and generate up to 4 images per day, all for free. Premium X subscribers ($7/month) get up to 50 questions per day, while Premium+ X subscribers ($14/month) get “higher usage” and more access to AI’s capabilities, although these limits and features aren’t specified.
Grok’s iOS App
Grok’s iOS app by xAI was just released in the App Store for free. Unlike Grok-2 on X, Grok’s iOS app does not have any paid tiers and Grok on X isn’t vague about the Grok iOS app’s capabilities, which are similar to those of ChatGPT. The key features of Grok’s iOS app include image generation and photorealistic image generation, real-time information from the web and X, and image analysis. Better yet, there’s already integration with your iPhone or iPad’s Control Center, Siri, and Shortcuts along with a Lock Screen widget.
Grok also separates itself by giving responses in a more conversational tone while other chatbots are on the drier side. It will even tell jokes. Whether or not you have an iPhone capable of Apple Intelligence or you’re a ChatGPT or other chatbot user, take Grok’s iOS app for a spin. xAI’s Grok iOS app requires iOS 17 or later.
Credit: xAI
