X (formerly known as Twitter) is said to be testing a free version of the platform’s native artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot Grok, several users posted. On Sunday, some users claimed to have received access to Grok despite not being a paid subscriber on X. There are some limitations to the free tier of the chatbot, as per the users, and its availability is said to be limited to certain regions. Notably, the development comes just a week after xAI released the Grok API and announced several incentives for developers to use it.
X Said to Be Testing Free Version of Grok
Several X users including app researchers and AI enthusiasts posted on the platform that the social media company is testing a free version of the chatbot, allowing even those who have not purchased the X Premium subscription to access it. Notably, Grok was released in November 2023, and so far, it has only been limited to the platform’s subscribers.
In a report, TechCrunch confirmed that X is testing the free tier of Grok in New Zealand, however, other regions might also have access to the chatbot. Gadgets 360 staff members were not able to verify the existence of the test. The AI bot also appears to not be available in India. Apart from the free version, Grok is also said to be getting a new logo. The current “Grok” word logo is said to be replaced with a socket-like logo.
One of the X users also detailed several limitations for the free version. According to a reply to another comment, Grok will only be available to accounts that are at least seven days old and have a phone number linked to it.
Currently, non-subscribers are said to get 10 Grok 2 questions every two hours, and 20 Grok 2 mini questions in the same duration. Further, the free tier of the chatbot can also analyse up to three images per day.
Separately, xAI, the company behind Grok, rolled out a Grok API last week. The company also announced several incentives for developers to try out the API such as free credits worth $25 (roughly Rs. 2,100) per month till the end of the year. Additionally, all the developers who have already purchased prepaid credits for the API were given free credits worth the same amount every month till the end of 2024.
