ChatGPT might finally face some real competition from Grok

(Image credit: xAI)

Grok is heading to mobile devices, according to a Wall Street Journal report. xAI CEO Elon Musk is planning to launch a standalone app for his Grok chatbot to compete with OpenAI's ChatGPT and other AI chatbots like Google Gemini, and Anthropic's Claude.

Like the web version of Grok, the mobile app would likely use the Grok-2 model. The most recent iteration of the Grok line of models, Grok-2, offers similar conversational abilities to ChatGPT and other AI chatbots but is boosted with real-time information from X.

Grok is not universally available even from the web, and interacting with the AI chatbot requires a subscription to X Premium or Premium+. Going mobile might change that limitation, opening up at least a limited free-tier version of Grok in an app.

xAI certainly has the capital to pursue both making an app and making it more available. The company has seen a huge influx of investment that sets it up as a rare OpenAI rival with a real chance at carving away users. Setting up a standalone app for Grok suggests xAI has ambitions in that direction. With its own app, xAI can offer Grok to people who may not have an interest in X as a social media platform but who are still intrigued by what an AI chatbot could do for them.

Grok and go

ChatGPT is undoubtedly the most formidable rival Grok would face in the mobile app market, but is hardly the only one. Gemini, Claude, Microsoft Copilot, and many others are quickly launching and upgrading mobile apps with whatever features and abilities the companies believe will entice more people to download the app.

xAI also has to work out how much appeal Grok will have divorced from its context on X. The ability to search through the social media platform is a major selling point for Grok, but would those who don't care about the controversial social media platform still use Grok? And would those who see value in X not just use Grok on the X app?

The details of the app, like whether it will include the Flux AI image creator, aren't clear, though it would be an obvious feature to add if it's not in the initial rollout. Regardless, the laid-back approach to copyright and trademark evident in Grok might also be a problem as it might open up more chances for people to get in trouble for making images of Mario if Nintendo's copyright infringement hunter Tracer goes after them for infringement, as happened on X.

Eric Hal Schwartz is a freelance writer for TechRadar with more than 15 years of experience covering the intersection of the world and technology. For the last five years, he served as head writer for Voicebot.ai and was on the leading edge of reporting on generative AI and large language models. He's since become an expert on the products of generative AI models, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude, Google Gemini, and every other synthetic media tool. His experience runs the gamut of media, including print, digital, broadcast, and live events. Now, he's continuing to tell the stories people want and need to hear about the rapidly evolving AI space and its impact on their lives. Eric is based in New York City.