Elon Musk is taking a bold new step to turn artificial intelligence into a revenue engine for X. In a recent conversation with advertisers, Musk revealed that the Grok AI chatbot will soon begin showing ads directly within its answers. This move is part of a wider strategy to monetise Grok’s capabilities and offset the growing costs of running powerful AI systems.
The plan is simple but ambitious. Grok, the in-app AI chatbot created by xAI, will now offer suggestions that include promotional content. So when users ask Grok for help, they may see sponsored replies or ad-driven recommendations built into the AI’s answers. Musk noted that this could help fund the extremely costly GPUs powering Grok, which are necessary to keep the service fast and capable.
While monetisation is a key focus, Musk also announced the launch of Grok Imagine, a brand new tool that generates AI-based images and videos. Currently, this feature is being rolled out for free to users in the United States. It is now integrated within the main Grok app, which can be downloaded from both the App Store and Google Play Store.
Grok Imagine allows users to create high-quality visuals using just a few prompts. While similar to other AI generation tools in the market, Musk’s decision to offer it free initially signals a broader strategy to attract user engagement before monetisation is introduced later.
At the heart of these developments is xAI, the parent company behind Grok. Musk stated that xAI had so far been entirely focused on improving the chatbot’s quality and speed. But with the basics in place, the focus now shifts toward building a sustainable revenue model. One piece of this plan includes using xAI’s AI systems to optimise ad targeting across the X platform, ensuring more personalised and effective advertising.
This comes at a crucial time for X. Since Musk took the company private in late 2022, the social media platform’s advertising revenue has taken a significant hit. However, there is cautious optimism in the air. Recent reports suggest that ad revenue could see a 17 percent rise, bringing in an estimated 1.31 billion dollars in the near future.
Whether users will embrace ads in AI conversations remains to be seen. But with Grok Imagine already creating buzz and new revenue strategies being tested, it’s clear that Elon Musk is betting big on AI as the future of X.
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