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Social network X is introducing a new frontier in user engagement, rolling out access to xAI’s Grok chatbot to Premium tier subscribers. This expansion follows Elon Musk's recent announcement, extending the feature to a broader base of paid users. In a recent update posted on its support page, the company specified that only Premium and Premium+ subscribers will have the privilege of interacting with the chatbot in select regions.
Previously, Grok was exclusively available to Premium+ users, who subscribe for $16 per month or $168 annually. With this latest update, users with an $8 per month subscription can now tap into the chatbot's capabilities.
Grok offers users two distinct modes: "Regular mode" and "Fun mode." However, akin to other Large Language Model (LLM) products, Grok includes labels indicating that it may provide inaccurate responses.
Recent developments include X's introduction of a new explore view within Grok, where the chatbot synthesizes trending news stories. Notably, while Jeff Bezos and NVIDIA-backed Perplexity AI also offer news summaries, Grok appears to go a step further by crafting headlines. Notably, it was reported that the chatbot generated a fabricated headline reading, “Iran Strikes Tel Aviv with Heavy Missiles.”
Elon Musk's initiative to expand Grok's user base likely aims to position it as a formidable competitor against products like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and Anthropic’s Claude. Musk's recent criticisms of OpenAI's operations, including a lawsuit filed in March over alleged deviations from its non-profit objectives, underscore his determination to push Grok into the spotlight.
Although xAI recently open-sourced Grok, crucial details about its training data remain undisclosed. This lack of transparency raises questions about the model's development and the company's approach to training data. As discussions surrounding the latest version of the model continue, transparency remains paramount in evaluating its efficacy and reliability.
