Musk's Grok AI chatbot is now available for free
What's the story
Elon Musk's artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot Grok is now available to all users for free. The paywall that previously restricted its usage has been removed.
Unlike other AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude which were freely accessible from the get-go, Grok initially required an X Premium subscription for access.
The chatbot was first introduced by Musk's xAI in 2023 and is tightly integrated with X.
User confirmation
User experiences confirm free access
Though xAI has not officially confirmed Grok's free availability, multiple users have reported being able to use the chatbot without an X Premium subscription.
The change was first noticed on Friday when X made its chatbot accessible to non-premium users.
However, this wider accessibility comes with certain restrictions on usage limits and features for free users.
Usage restrictions
Usage limitations for free users
Free users can engage with Grok by posing up to 10 questions every two hours. They are also restricted to three image analyzes and four image generations per day, as per the chatbot's guidelines.
X's Premium and Premium+ subscriptions, priced at $7 and $14 per month, respectively, get extended access with the option to ask up to 50 questions daily.
Account prerequisites
Account requirements to use Grok
For those without an X account, using the chatbot requires an account that's at least seven days old and verified with a linked phone number.
Grok isn't just known for its conversational capabilities, but also as a versatile AI assistant.
It can help users research and explain trending topics, offer coding support, and automatically manage customer inquiries for business users.