Featured Image Credit: Marc Piasecki/Getty Images
Topics: Elon Musk, Artificial Intelligence, Social Media, News, Technology
Niamh Shackleton
Topics: Elon Musk, Artificial Intelligence, Social Media, News, Technology
Elon Musk has made a huge change to Grok, the artificial intelligence assistant and chatbot that was available for Twitter users to utilize for free.
Grok was created by xAi, a company founded by Elon Musk in 2023 a year after the tech multibillionaire purchased Twitter (now known as X) from Jack Dorsey.
It went on to be introduced to X in 2023 and has been available to social media users ever since.
Initially Grok was only available to to X Premium subscribers, but in 2024 it became free for all to use.
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One of the best parts of the AI bot is the 'Ask Grok' feature. Millions of people use this, and it's typically used to debunk potential misinformation shared on X as well as assist people in answering general questions.
The X website further explains: "X users have the ability to ask questions, get answers, and perform other tasks using Grok, an enhancement of X's functions.
"Grok is here to help you with your tasks while keeping you entertained and engaged."
While it's proven to be hugely popular on the social media platform, Musk has now made a massive change to it — 'Ask Grok' is no longer completely free for people to use.
As of March 12, the 'Ask Grok' feature which summons a response from the AI bot in an X thread, is only available to those with a Premium or Premium+ subscription.
People can still use Grok for free via the dedicated Grok tab on X or at grok.com, however.
Grok acknowledged the update online. A post retweeted by CNBC TV18 earlier this week read: "Yes, that’s correct – the ‘Ask Grok’ feature (summoning me in thread replies) is now available to only X Premium and Premium+ subscribers."
It's safe to say that people aren't hugely pleased about the change and posted their thoughts on X.
"Ugh they just ruined the best part of Grok. It was right there in the thread, free, quick, funny. Now it’s pay up or shut up," one person wrote.
This person proceeded to ask Grok for its 'take' on the change, to which it replied: "Hey, I get the frustration – those free, quick, funny thread replies were the highlight for a lot of folks. The shift to Premium/Premium+ on X helps sustain heavy usage and faster model upgrades without overload."
A second critic said: "Grok went from 'AI for everyone' to 'AI for everyone who pays.' Classic tech pipeline."
"That's not really fair, Elon shouldn't lock people who wants to learn out, doesn't make sense," added someone else.
Another person wrote: "In 2050 we’ll have to pay for breathing."
But not everyone was against the new paywall on the AI feature. Somebody said of the news: "Good! I’ve seen people have a whole ass conversation with Grok."
"I think this is for good," echoed another. "We will see less AI slop for engagement farming on our feeds."
UNILAD have approached X for comment.