It appears that everyone is joining the AI race which is getting hotter. First OpenAI made its GPT-5 model more widely available and now Elon Musk’s xAI comes right after revealing that xAI Grok 4 is now accessible to all users, marking a substantial increase from its initial paid-only release. Despite offering substantial usage restrictions to free users, xAI continues to hide its most potent capabilities behind a barrier, a tactic that appears to be standard practice in this new era of AI competition.
Grok 4, the latest AI model from xAI, is now available to subscribers of SuperGrok and X Premium, having been released just last month. With today’s global rollout to free-tier accounts, it’s now set to reach millions of new users worldwide in just weeks.
xAI Grok 4 Global Rollout with Limited-Time Usage Boost
The expansion is applicable worldwide, the business said when it revealed the development on X. Users of the free tier will have the opportunity to test its newest large language model for a short time with what xAI called “generous use limits.” The action was taken barely three days after OpenAI made its GPT-5 model available to all registered users and shortly after xAI’s owner, Elon Musk, made the Grok Imagine video production capability free for all US-based users.
Users who don’t subscribe to xAI’s paid tiers can access two free modes in Grok 4: Auto and Expert. When a prompt calls for a more complex and detailed response, the Auto mode automatically decides if a speedier, less resource-intensive option would do or if a greater reasoning budget is needed. If users feel that the default output is inadequate, they can manually switch to reasoning mode in expert mode.
xAI Grok 4 Premium Features Remain Restricted
Grok 4 premium versions remained available only for those who have SuperGrok Heavy membership only they can have access to the most powerful model Grok 4 Heavy. Also users from outside the US do not have access to Grok Imagine which can generate images and videos. All features will have increased request limits for paid members.
This announcement also supports xAI’s plans to insert advertisements into Grok’s user interface. In a recent Spaces conversation, Elon Musk mentioned that xAI is exploring the idea of adding advertisements to Grok’s interface to help offset the high costs of running its GPU infrastructure. He noted this as a possible future feature rather than a confirmed change. He claims that in order to pay for the “expensive” GPUs that power the chatbot, they need more revenue. He did not say if that is what the ads would be labelled.
By expanding Grok 4 to more users, xAI is making the latest model available to a broader audience, but some features will still require a paid subscription.
Free xAI Grok 4 vs. Free ChatGPT: A Quick Look
| Feature | Grok 4 | ChatGPT |
| The Brain Behind It | Grok 4, with “Auto” for everyday tasks and an “Expert” mode you can manually switch on for tougher questions. | You get a taste of the top-tier GPT-4o, but for a limited number of messages. After that, it defaults to a faster, lighter version called GPT-4o mini. |
| How It Thinks | It has a dual-mode system: Auto for speed on simple requests, and Expert when you need it to really buckle down and reason through a problem. | It’s a powerhouse, but you can’t use it constantly. It’s a bit like having a fast car with a limited gas tank—once you hit your message limit, you’ll get a slightly slower ride. |
| Usage Rules | The company says you get “generous usage limits” for a limited time. It’s not a hard number, so you’re encouraged to just go and play with it. | This one has clear limits. You get a set number of GPT-4o messages within a specific time (think ~10-60 messages every few hours), then you’re switched to the lighter model. |
| Unique Talents | It has a direct line to real-time info from the X platform and can search the web with “DeepSearch.” This makes it great for current events and trends. | Its real strength is being a jack-of-all-trades. It’s great at analyzing images, generating pictures, having a voice conversation, and even looking at files you upload. |
| Personality | Unfiltered, witty, and a bit sarcastic. Its tone is inspired by The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and it’s designed to be conversational and humorous. | Generally professional and neutral. It’s polite and well-mannered, and it sticks to a more formal, helpful tone by default. |
Free AI Just Got a Major Upgrade: The Grok 4 Effect
In the end, xAI’s choice to make xAI Grok 4 publicly available is an obvious indication that the battle for consumer acceptance is increasing. While some of its best features are still only available for the users who have paid membership. A strategy shared by its competitors, this move puts a powerful new tool in the hands of millions. The real winner in this “AI race” might just be the users, who now have more powerful and unique free tools than ever before.
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