You can now try X’s Grok AI chatbot for free, but there are limits

Elon Musk’s xAI has made its quirky chatbot, Grok, more accessible than ever. Grok, known for its humor and willingness to tackle “spicy” questions, was initially exclusive to X Premium subscribers but now X has opened it up to all users with a free tier, with some limitations. Anyone can experience Grok’s real-time information and conversational abilities with 10 free messages every two hours.

Previously, if you wanted to have a chat with this real-time, information-hungry AI, you had to be an X Premium subscriber. But now, as reported by The Verge, X has thrown open the doors, giving everyone the chance to experience xAI’s latest Grok-2 beta model.

This move comes hot on the heels of xAI securing a cool $6 billion in funding, bringing its total to a staggering $12 billion. Clearly, they’re serious about making Grok a major player in the AI chatbot arena. And why not? With its ability to tap into X’s data stream for up-to-the-minute knowledge, Grok can hold a conversation on just about anything – from breaking news to the latest memes.

But it’s not just about text anymore. Grok has also been making improvements to its text-to-image generation feature with the new Aurora model. And now, even free users can get in on the fun, generating 10 images every 2 hours. You also now get 3 image analysis credits per day.

This shift to a freemium model puts Grok in direct competition with the likes of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, and Anthropic’s Claude, which all have some version of a free chatbot. By removing the barrier to entry, xAI is likely hoping to gather more user feedback to further refine and improve Grok’s capabilities.

So, what does this mean for the average X user? Well, it means you can finally experience Grok’s unique blend of wit and information for yourself, without having to shell out for Premium. Whether you’re curious about current events, need help analyzing an image, or just want to test out another AI chatbot, Grok is now ready for whatever you want to throw at it. Just look for the Grok tab in the left sidebar on desktop or in the bottom menu on mobile. What are your thoughts on Grok? Let us know in the comments below!