Initially launched as a “humorous AI assistant” exclusively for Premium subscribers, Grok now competes directly with free chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, and Anthropic’s Claude.
The company added a text-to-image generation feature to Grok in August.
xAI, which recently raised US$6 billion in funding, is exploring a standalone app for Grok—following the model of established AI chatbot platforms. The expansion represents a move to broaden the chatbot’s user base and market presence.
The rollout follows recent testing of free Grok access in select regions, signaling xAI’s intent to increase the AI tool’s visibility and adoption.
Grok’s expanded availability highlights the ongoing competition among AI chatbot platforms to attract and retain users through accessible, feature-rich services.
