Grok AI – start using it not only on Twitter (X)
Table of Contents
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Most people use Grok directly on Twitter (X), with access only to a simple list of threads. Increasingly, Grok is also used directly in tweets, as it can be tagged when one wants to receive a public response. However, this is a mistake, because Grok has an extensive dashboard, similar to those of ChatGPT or Google Gemini.
Grok, created by xAI, is an advanced artificial intelligence assistant that has revolutionized the way users interact with AI technology. Inspired by Douglas Adams’s book The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and the character JARVIS from Iron Man, Grok combines advanced search, content generation, and project management capabilities.
The main inspiration for the name, however, comes from the literature of Robert A. Heinlein: the word “grok” first appeared in the 1961 novel Stranger in a Strange Land and means a deep, intuitive understanding of something, connecting with the essence of the object of one’s understanding.
Its goal is to provide precise, useful answers with a touch of humor and a “rebellious” approach that sets it apart from other chatbots, such as ChatGPT or Google Notebook LM.
In the article, we will discuss Grok’s key features, including projects, tasks, search, thinking mode, project selection, personas, and the ability to add files, as well as compare it with other AI tools.
General Advantages of Grok
The main advantage of Grok is its low level of censorship, while maintaining good response quality. Additionally, Grok is a fairly fast model, faster than ChatGPT. Another advantage is its integration with Twitter, or more precisely, access to a huge and rapidly updating database of current information. ChatGPT does not have such access; Google Gemini has access to YouTube and Google in a certain sense, but on the other hand, this is too large a database to work in a way similar to Twitter.
Projects in Grok
Projects are a very convenient feature of Grok that allows users to add multiple documents and then discuss them across multiple threads. Unlike ChatGPT, where project features are available only on paid plans, Grok makes them available to both free and premium users, making them a more accessible tool.
Google Gemini does not have a Projects option at all, either in the free or paid version. This functionality is instead provided by the free NotebookLM, which, however, is not a typical language model. NotebookLM allows you to add multiple sources, including links to YouTube videos, and then chat with those files, although it is better suited to finding specific information and less capable of processing it further.
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Editing Documents in Grok (Canvas Feature)
The canvas feature in Grok works much better than in ChatGPT. A document created this way can be formatted manually. In this respect, it is on a par with what has been available in Google’s Gemini. Additionally, we get a convenient version history. One issue is modifying the document with AI: instead of editing specific fragments more quickly, Grok rewrites the entire text. That said, as a rule, Grok works faster than ChatGPT.
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Tasks: simple automation and trend tracking
The “Tasks” feature in Grok allows users to automate queries, which is particularly useful for professionals and researchers. Users can set schedules for queries, such as daily tracking of popular topics on the X platform or weekly trend analyses in a specific field. Results are delivered via in-app notifications or emails, increasing work efficiency.
For example, a user can configure a task such as “Send me the 10 latest news stories about SpaceX’s Starship rocket” and receive regular updates. This feature sets Grok apart from competitors such as ChatGPT, where task results are limited to the application, which may be less convenient. Grok Tasks offers greater flexibility through external notification channels.
Task example | Description |
Daily Trend Tracking on X | Automatic collection of popular topics from the X platform. |
Weekly Technology Trends Analysis | Generating reports on the latest innovations in a selected field. |
Email notifications | Results delivered to the user's email inbox. |
Search: Standard, DeepSearch, and DeeperSearch
Grok offers three search levels that cater to different user needs:
- Standard Search: Quick answers to simple questions, based on data from platform X and the internet.
- DeepSearch: In-depth search that scans multiple online sources, providing detailed reports. For example, a query about renewable energy trends may return summaries from journals, news outlets, and discussions on X.
- DeeperSearch: An advanced version of DeepSearch that uses more time and resources for in-depth analysis and reasoning. This is particularly useful for scientific research or the analysis of complex data.
DeepSearch and DeeperSearch are available to premium users, but free users have limited access to DeepSearch (e.g., 10 queries every 24 hours).
For a long time, we could use the buttons at the bottom of the chat to select the research mode. These buttons are currently gone, but the deep research function still works if the command text indicates that a more extensive web search is needed.
Thinking Mode (Think Mode) (edited 09.08.2025 – not entirely up to date).
“Think” mode is a Grok feature that enables advanced reasoning, particularly for tasks requiring logical thinking, such as mathematics, science, or programming. In this mode, Grok spends more time analyzing the problem, correcting errors, and providing step-by-step answers. For example, a user can ask for a mathematical equation to be solved, and Grok will show the reasoning process, which is especially useful in education.
This mode is available to premium users and achieves high scores on tests such as AIME 2024 (95.8% on mathematical problems) and LiveCodeBench (80.4% on programming tasks). Compared to ChatGPT, “Think” mode offers a more transparent reasoning process, which may be more educational for users.
For some time, this mode was available in the free plan, as shown in the screenshots.
Persons (edited: 09.08.2025, not entirely up to date)
Grok offers a unique persona feature that allows users to customize their interaction style with AI. Available personas include:
Persona | Description |
Doctor | Provides medical information with the caveat that they are not a doctor. |
Teacher | Helps with education by offering detailed explanations and support. |
Friend | Engages in casual, friendly conversations. |
Romantic | Introduces flirtatious or romantic interactions. |
Unhinged | Characterized by unpredictable, humorous responses. |
Therapist | Offers therapeutic conversations, with a reminder that they are not licensed. |
Personas can be changed during a conversation, allowing for a smooth transition between different response styles. For example, a user can start a conversation in “Teacher” mode for a scientific explanation and then switch to “Friend” for a more casual interaction. This flexibility distinguishes Grok from other chatbots, which typically offer a single response style.
Personas work similarly to assistants in ChatGPT (or manually created instructions); however, the way they are integrated into the program means they are treated somewhat differently.
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[Edit. 2025.08.09] Typical personas are no longer available; instead, we can now create custom instructions.
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Adding files
Grok allows users to upload files directly to the platform or integrate them with Google Drive, enabling the analysis of documents, spreadsheets, and slides. For example, a user can upload a financial report, and Grok will generate a summary of key points, such as a 17% increase in operating costs in the third quarter of 2024. Integration with Google Drive streamlines the process by eliminating the need to upload files manually.
This feature is particularly useful for professionals who need to quickly analyze large amounts of data. Once again, one of Grok’s major advantages is its design. In this case, we have access to the latest files added to the AI. One drawback, however, is that photos are included there, including those generated by Grok.
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Content search, browsing conversations
Information retrieval is a very useful feature in language model client applications. It is relatively simple, but extremely useful—I remember that during the first few months of ChatGPT’s operation, I really missed this feature.
In Grok, the conversation search feature is very attractive. In addition, we get a quick preview of the thread; hovering over the title with the mouse shows us its entire content. In this way, using a language model feels more like using a note-taking program than a communication app.
Graphics in Grok
At the moment, ChatGPT handles graphics better, especially graphic editing. Although Grok is also very useful. Images generated by Grok are quite similar to those from Gemini—they are designed to be realistic by default, which sometimes makes them seem artificial and clumsy. By comparison, ChatGPT has a more illustrative style (even when generating a photo).
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Grok 4
While this text was being written, xAI made the Grok 4 model available in its free version.
Comparison with ChatGPT and Google NotebookLM
Grok vs. ChatGPT
ChatGPT, created by OpenAI, is one of the most popular AI chatbots, but its design features, such as Canvas, are available only in paid plans, such as ChatGPT Plus. Thanks to Grok Studio, Grok offers similar capabilities in its free version, making it more accessible to a broader range of users. Moreover, Grok has the advantage of accessing real-time data from the X platform, which allows for more up-to-date responses compared to ChatGPT, which relies more heavily on previously trained data.
Grok vs. Google Gemini in NotebookLM
Google Notebook LM is a research and note-taking tool that excels at analyzing and summarizing uploaded sources, such as PDFs, Google Docs, or websites. It is particularly effective at finding and organizing notes, making it ideal for students and researchers. However, Notebook LM is not very good at generating text. Although it can create a longer note or an article outline, when we want better-quality text, it is better to use typical language models such as Google Gemini, ChatGPT, or Grok. ChatGPT, like Grok, combines both search and content generation, making them more versatile tools.
How Much Does Grok Cost?
I described the program’s free features; it is also worth looking at the pricing list showing the program’s advanced capabilities. In this case, the price starts at $30 per month, while Grok Super Heavy costs $300 per month. The price is enormous, but it should be noted that Grok Super Heavy is currently one of the best models. Although it was released two weeks before ChatGPT-5, it performs better in many tests.
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For comparison, ChatGPT Plus costs 20 dollars per month, while Pro access costs 200 dollars per month. In the case of Gemini, the standard paid plan (misleadingly named Google AI Pro) costs $19.99, while the Pro plan (misleadingly named Google AI Ultra) costs $124.99. A significant drawback for Google for using marketing prices with “pennies” (cents). For Claude AI, the monthly cost of the standard version is $17, while the Pro version costs $100.
Conclusions
The app for using Grok (in a browser and on a phone) significantly expands the capabilities of the Grok known from Twitter (X). Many small design solutions deserve attention, such as personas and a preview of recent files. Particularly noteworthy is access to Projects mode (on the free plan).
The drawback is the lack of an option to preview the code directly on the page, which is a very convenient feature. This is available in Google Gemini, Claude AI, and ChatGPT, while Grok lags behind.
Compared to ChatGPT, Grok has fewer features; the same applies when comparing it to Google’s entire suite (Gemini, NotebookLM, Google AI Studio). Grok’s advantage is access to Projects within the main language model, so when analyzing larger topics, we don’t have to manually copy text from NotebookLM to Gemini.