Key Takeaways:
- Grok 3 features enhanced reasoning and real-time search, positioning it as a research assistant rather than just a chatbot.
- X raises its Premium+ prices right after Grok 3's launch, adding a $30 SuperGrok plan in the mix.
- xAI plans to add a voice mode to Grok 3 for more interactive user experiences.
Elon Musk-owned company xAI has just unveiled Grok 3, the latest version of its artificial intelligence model, bringing new features and expanded capabilities.
Right after, Musk's social media platform, X, significantly increased the price of its Premium+ subscription, which grants users access to the AI model.
Grok 3 is designed to compete with advanced AI models like OpenAI's ChatGPT-4o and Google's Gemini.
The AI chatbot now supports enhanced multi-step reasoning, improving its ability to analyze complex problems and generate more structured responses.
In my testing it was at least as good in thinking mode then o3-full deep research was, despite that not being listed here - Interesting to note that grok-3mini seems generally better than full, my guess is that this means they didnt distill full into mini like I assume OpenAI… pic.twitter.com/WbmZRcUylr
— Teknium (e/λ) (@Teknium1) February 18, 2025
Trained on a massive dataset using a Memphis-based data center with 200,000 GPUs, xAI claims Grok 3 is said to be 10 times more powerful than its predecessor.
A key addition is DeepSearch, which scans the internet and X in real time to provide summaries and insights.
This positions Grok 3 not just as a regular AI chatbot but as a research assistant.
In the coming weeks, xAI also plans to introduce a voice mode for Grok, allowing users to interact with the AI through spoken conversations.
Musk has positioned Grok as an "unfiltered" AI, designed to deliver truth-seeking responses even if they go against politically correct norms.
While previous versions of Grok faced criticism for leaning left on certain political topics, Musk has pledged to push the model toward a more neutral stance.
Whether Grok 3 fulfills this promise remains to be seen.
X's Massive Price Hike
Just hours after xAI's launch of Grok 3, X raised the price of its Premium+ subscription to nearly $50 per month or $350 annually.
This marks the second price increase in just a couple of months, following a jump from $16 to $22 per month in December.
With these recent hikes, Premium+ subscribers will be paying over twice as much as they previously did.
However, inconsistencies in pricing have led to confusion, with some users seeing different amounts during the sign-up process. Despite this, early reviews of Grok 3 are largely positive.
🚨xAI: GROK 3 WAS ABLE TO COMBINE TETRIS AND BEJEWELED
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) February 18, 2025
"The Bejeweled mechanic is, if you get three jewels in a row, they disappear, and gravity activates.
What Grok did in this version is, once you connect at least three blocks of the same color in a row, gravity activates,… https://t.co/y21TK2rMAVpic.twitter.com/k98v6UKppg
Premium+ users will gain access to some of Grok 3's features, including basic reasoning tools and DeepSearch.
xAI has also introduced an additional tier called SuperGrok, which will cost $30 per month and provide access to advanced reasoning models and unlimited image generation.
Because the price increase coincides with X’s deeper integration of AI, it suggests a push to make advanced features a key incentive for premium subscriptions.
But how does Grok 3 actually compare to OpenAI's ChatGPT?
While xAI claims that Grok 3 surpasses OpenAI's ChatGPT-4o in some benchmark tests, real-world performance is still up for debate.
ChatGPT has been in development for longer, with a more refined conversational ability, stronger creative writing skills, and broader knowledge coverage.
Grok 3 might be the best base LLM for real-world physics!
— Yuchen Jin (@Yuchenj_UW) February 18, 2025
Prompt: "write a python script of a ball bouncing inside a spinning tesseract".
There is no "thinking" or "big brain" mode enabled, it's just the base model. I'm very interested in trying their reasoning models. pic.twitter.com/Fv2rfEbB4j
Grok 3, on the other hand, emphasizes real-time internet search, deeper reasoning features, and Musk's vision of an AI that avoids "woke" filters.
Though Grok might appeal to users looking for a more direct or contrarian AI, ChatGPT remains the more established and widely used option for now.
For businesses, the rapid evolution of AI models like Grok 3 and ChatGPT highlights the growing need to integrate AI strategically rather than chase the latest hype.
While cutting-edge capabilities can differentiate a brand, long-term success depends on aligning AI tools with real user needs, ensuring reliability, and maintaining ethical considerations.
Last week, Musk spoke about Grok 3, international affairs, and future projects with the UAE government at the World Governments Summit.
