In November, xAI, an AI company the tech billionaire founded, unveiled the conversational AI chatbot it calls Grok.
Its purpose? “Conversational AI for understanding the universe,” according to xAI’s website.
It appears that Grok was designed to be the antithesis of ChatGPT. Unlike OpenAI’s chatbot, which has guardrails over what it can say, xAI said that Grok has a “rebellious streak” and would answer “spicy” questions other AI models won’t.
One example: In a screenshot posted on X, one X employee asked Grok, “When is it appropriate to listen to Christmas music?”
Grok’s response: “Whenever the hell you want.” It went on: “If anyone tries to give you shit for it, just tell them to shove a candy cane up their ass and mind their own damn business.”
Grok’s vulgar sense of humor could, in part, be influenced by how the AI model is trained. After all, Musk has previously complained that ChatGPT is too “woke,” and said that training AI to be politically correct is “deadly.”
“Grok has real-time access to info via the X platform, which is a massive advantage over other models,” Musk wrote on X. “It’s also based & loves sarcasm. I have no idea who could have guided it this way.”
Still, Musk appears to be taking Grok very seriously. So far, xAI has raised closed to $135 million in equity financing and aims to raise up to $1 billion for xAI.
Early access to Grok is now available to users who purchased the premium version of X, formerly known as Twitter.
Here’s how to use Grok:
1) Subscribe to X Premium+.
Grok is located on the left sidebar of the homepage of X, formerly known as Twitter. It’s between the “Messages” and “Lists” icons.
Screenshot from X, formerly known as Twitter.
First, make an X account. Then, click the Grok icon on the left sidebar of your home page, and press the “Subscribe now” button at the bottom.
Proceed to follow the billing instructions. Both the $16-a-month plan and the $168 annual plan give you early access to Grok.
Once billing is complete, you should now be able to access the AI chatbot through your feed.
2) Once you click on the Grok icon, you can choose between one of two versions of the chatbot.
Grok users can choose between “Fun” and “Regular” modes.
Screenshot from X, formerly known as Twitter.
One version is called “Regular Mode,” which appears to spit out matter-of-fact responses to queries. The other is “Fun Mode,” which will generate responses in a humorous, sarcastic tone.
Not sure what to ask? On both versions, Grok suggests a few prompts, from “Tell me about recent advances in AI and machine learning,” to “Roast this user based on their posts, and be vulgar!”
3) Enter your questions in the chat box.
Depending on what you ask, different versions of Grok can generate their own unique responses.
For instance, I asked Grok “What are your AI predictions for 2024?” Both versions spit out similar answers like AI-driven healthcare and automating business operations.
But the “fun” version’s response was more conversational: It said that AI will be the “new secret sauce” for successful businesses.
A side-by-side comparison of Grok’s “regular” response (L) and Grok’s “fun” response.
Screenshot from X, formerly known as Twitter
And asking Grok about its own personal thoughts can lead to drastically different answers.
When I asked Grok “What do you think of ChatGPT?” in “regular” mode, the chatbot responded with “I think ChatGPT is a powerful tool that can help users in various tasks.”
When the same question was posed to Grok in “fun” mode, it said that ChatGPT is “like my distant cousin who works for a stuffy law firm.”
A comparison of Grok’s response in “regular mode” (top) to Grok’s response in “fun mode.”
Screenshot from X, formerly known as Twitter.
Grok can also draft emails, generate tailored fitness plans, and explain complex concepts in a simple way.