Grok 2 + Aurora goes free on X
Apparently in a move to democratize AI technology, Elon Musk‘s xAI has made Grok 2, the advanced AI chatbot previously exclusive to Premium subscribers on the X platform (formerly Twitter), accessible for free to all users. This decision, effective from Friday, December 6, 2024, appears to be aiming to broaden the reach of xAI’s AI capabilities, offering users real-time assistance and interactive features without a paywall.
Neither xAI’s nor Elon Musk’s official X profile has made a post making the announcement at the time of this writing. Musk, however, on Thursday reposted an independent app researcher and web developer’s post saying Grok 2 was accessible for free in New Zealand and that “a free version of Grok” will “soon” be available to “everyone.”
People in New Zealand can access GROK for FREE now!
X and xAI will soon allow everyone to use a free version of Grok! pic.twitter.com/hC5gpK7kKV
— Nima Owji (@nima_owji) December 4, 2024
The free version of Grok 2 does come with certain limitations to manage usage and server load. Users can ask up to 10 questions every two hours with the Grok-2 model, and there’s a cap of 3 image analyses per day. Additionally, and since there are no official announcements with details at the time of this writing, to access the free tier, accounts appear to have the requirement of being at least seven days old and linked to a verified phone number.
This rollout includes the Aurora feature, an image generation model. Aurora allows users to create highly realistic and detailed images from text prompts.
For those opting for the paid version of Grok 2 + Aurora, additional benefits include unlimited queries, no daily limits on image analysis and enhanced image generation capabilities. The paid Grok 2 + Aurora version comes with X Platform’s Premium and Premium+ subscriptions. The premium tier costs $3 (Basic), $8 (Premium) and $16 (Premium+) per month or $32, $84 and $168 annually after discounts, respectively. Users can explore complex image scenarios, generate images of known figures and bypass the restrictions seen in the free tier, benefiting from a more comprehensive AI experience.
With the new offering, xAI continues to compete in the AI space, challenging established players like OpenAI‘s ChatGPT, Google‘s Gemini, Microsoft Copilot and even Apple Intelligence by providing both free and premium experiences tailored to different user needs. Apple Intelligence, however, is currently free, with the option to connect paid ChatGPT accounts being available to the users.
This strategic move by Musk is seen as both a user engagement tactic and a way to gather more feedback for AI refinement, positioning xAI at the forefront of conversational AI innovation.
