Musk announces X/Twitter’s new AI tool: a sarcastic chatbot named Grok
Elon Musk announced his plans to integrate the artificial intelligence startup xAI into his social media platform X on Sunday via a chatbot named Grok.
He also revealed that xAI would also be available as an independent application.
Musk said that xAI had recently unveiled its first AI model, a chatbot called Grok, which became accessible to all X Premium+ subscribers on the preceding Friday.
Grok, the new AI system, has the unique capability of accessing real-time information from X, the social media platform Musk acquired for about $44 billion approximately a year ago, then called twitter. This real-time access could give Grok a significant advantage over other AI models, which primarily rely on older internet data archives.
Musk noted that Grok has a penchant for sarcasm and responds with a touch of humour. He hopes that this added personality will help Grok stand out in a crowded market.
Elon Musk, who has criticized the AI efforts of major tech companies for their censorship practices, introduced xAI in July, describing it as a “maximum truth-seeking AI” that aims to comprehend the nature of the universe, in competition with Google’s Bard and Microsoft’s Bing AI.
“Grok has real-time access to info via the Twitter / X platform, which is a massive advantage over other models,” Musk added.
This launch aligns with Musk’s efforts to enhance engagement and revenue at X, which has faced a decline in revenue since his acquisition of Twitter in 2022. Many advertisers reduced their spending due to concerns about relaxed content moderation.
In September, Meta, a social media rival, also announced the launch of nearly 30 AI chatbots across its Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp apps. These chatbots include one designed to assist users with their questions and others based on the personas and appearances of celebrities, as part of an entertainment strategy.