Social network X is poised to expand access to its AI chatbot Grok, currently exclusive to premium users, to its free user base.
Over the weekend, app researchers and users reported spotting a free version of Grok in select regions. According to a report by TechCrunch, X is testing Grok access for free users in New Zealand, hinting at a broader rollout.
According to a researcher who goes by Swak on X, there are limits on the usage for now: 10 queries per two hours with the Grok-2 model, 20 queries per two hours with the Grok-2 mini model, and three image analysis questions per day.
To use Grok for free, your account should be at least seven days old and have a phone number linked to it.
xAI launched Grok-2 in August with image generation capacities, backed by Black Forest Labs’ FLUX.1 model. Late last month, the company also gave the model the ability to understand images.
All these features were available only to Premium and Premium+ users until now. By opening up Grok to free users, xAI is possibly looking for a more significant userbase and faster feedback cycle for its products, so that it can better compete with other models on the market like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.
Last month, The Wall Street Journal reported that xAI was in talks to raise several billion dollars at a valuation of $40 billion.
