AI chatbot Grok available as standalone iOS app in first countries

The AI assistant Grok is now available as a standalone app for iOS in the first countries. In Australia, among other countries, users can download the free app from xAI, a company owned by Elon Musk. In Germany, it is not yet available in the App Store as of January 2, 2025. According to media reports, there are plans to gradually offer the chatbot as a standalone app in other countries. It was previously marketed as part of the short messaging service X and was only accessible via this.

Users can log into the app with their X access data, via Apple or Google login and with a separate access via email. In the app itself, the user encounters the Large Language Model (LLM) Grok 2, which can be used to generate both text and images. Core functions include text summaries, rephrasing, programming support and answering questions, whereby Grok can access data in X and on the Internet in real time in addition to its training data.

Grok on X can also be used free of charge

When creating images, the development company largely dispenses with the usual restrictions imposed by other AI developers on the selection of image motifs. For example, publicly known persons are not excluded and copyrighted material can also be used. The app is currently still in beta status, which is clearly visible in the navigation bar, among other things.

At the beginning of December, xAI had already opened its AI chatbot to users of Platform X. Previously, Grok was only available to premium subscribers of the platform. Apparently, xAI wants to increase its reach. Free users can send up to ten messages to the AI every two hours. The number of images generated is limited to four per day for free users, and three image analyses are possible every day. The launch was preceded by tests in countries such as New Zealand.

Grok was officially announced in November 2023 and is intended as an alternative to AI chatbots such as ChatGPT from OpenAI or Gemini from Google.

(mki)