Elon Musk's X is exploring more ways to integrate xAI's Grok into the social networking app, with a series of recent discoveries revealing that X is working on new features like the ability to ask Grok questions about your X account, use Grok by highlighting text within the app, and access Grok's chatbot from a side popup while you continue using other parts of X.
The findings were recently shared by Nima Owji, an independent app researcher who frequently tweets his ideas for features he'd like to see in X. In this case, however, Owji says he discovered the additional functionality on X's website on Friday, July 5, though he confirmed to TechCrunch that to his knowledge, it hasn't been released to the public yet.
In one instance, Owji discovered that he could use Grok from a popup on the right side of the screen while browsing X, similar to how you can check your DMs (direct messages) from the app's home screen via a small window that overlays the screen.
This format is similar to how other companies like Google and Microsoft use chatbots within their productivity apps, where access to their AI chatbots is often available in a sidebar on the right side of the screen, making them easily accessible. This placement allows X users to chat with Grok more frequently, such as when posting in the app or browsing their timeline and coming across new information they want to learn more about.
Other developments indicate Grok may be integrated even more deeply into the X experience.
In one case, Owji found that it was being used to research X’s user profile, and in another case, he found that it was being used to search for terms found within X’s posts.
For example, one new development will allow users to find out more about X's account with the click of a button, although it's unclear exactly what information will or won't be included in the account summary provided. (Perhaps the best way to find out how this upcoming feature works is to ask Grok about X's account today.)
Perhaps more interesting is the built-in ability to search Grok by simply highlighting words found in X post.
In this case, drag the cursor over a term (or terms) and click the[Ask Grok]Clicking the button will launch a chatbot search, making it easier to ask Grok questions about the news or information you saw on X, or any other topic you want to explore further.
X is developing a feature that will let you select a piece of text in a post and instantly ask Grok a question about it.
I think this is a very cool feature! pic.twitter.com/g8pHU5sjPf
— Nima Owji (@nima_owji) July 5, 2024
X added Elon Musk's Grok to its app (formerly Twitter) last year, initially as a way to boost paid subscriptions to its Premium Plus plan. Amid growing competition from OpenAI's ChatGPT, Google's Gemini and others, X extended access to Grok to its mid-tier Premium subscription in March.
Despite its wider availability, app intelligence firm Appfigures found that X's in-app purchase revenue was still on a downward trend as of May 2024.
According to the company's data, X's net revenue in May was $7.6 million, down from $8 million in April and $8.2 million in March. Appfigures speculates that the decline is due to X's creators being incentivized to post more in order to make money. This leads many to post more frequently to get more views, but with less content. The company also notes that the price of premium subscriptions may be alienating some users. X has more competition than ever before, with apps like Instagram's Threads, Mastodon, and startups like Bluesky and more recently noplace building their own text-first social apps.
But X may still be recovering from the name change, as users continue to seek out the app known as “Twitter.” In May, X recorded 3 million downloads on the App Store, down 32% from 4.4 million a year ago, Appfigures noted.