Grok is the AI assistant built by xAI, Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company. It's available on the web at grok.com, in iOS and Android apps and inside the social platform X, and it can search both the web and live posts on X when it answers questions.
For businesses, Grok is one more AI assistant where buyers may ask about your category, your competitors and your brand. Its close tie to X also makes it different from other assistants: what people say about you on X can shape what Grok says about you.
What is Grok?
Grok is a chatbot and family of large language models developed by xAI. In February 2026, SpaceX announced it was acquiring xAI, a deal that, as City AM reported, folded both Grok and X into SpaceX. Some coverage, including TechCrunch, now refers to the company as SpaceXAI.
xAI releases new models often. Its release notes list Grok 4.5 in July 2026, Grok 4.6 in August 2026 and Grok 4.7 on September 21, 2026. According to xAI's model documentation, Grok 4.7 has a 500,000-token context window and a knowledge cutoff of May 2026.
xAI's Grok page describes a free tier on the web and in the apps, plus a paid SuperGrok plan with higher usage limits and multi-agent reasoning.
Why Grok matters
It's another place buyers ask questions. Grok is built into X and available as a standalone app, so it reaches people who may not use ChatGPT or Gemini as their main assistant. Testing only one AI tool can miss how your brand appears elsewhere.
It draws on X conversations. xAI says Grok pulls in live posts and trends from X alongside web search. For brands, that means public conversation on X, including complaints, reviews and news, can feed into answers.
Its outputs travel. xAI also launched Grokipedia in October 2025, an AI-generated encyclopedia written by Grok. Wikipedia's article on Grokipedia cites reporting by The Guardian and The Verge that other AI tools have cited it, while also noting criticism of its accuracy and sourcing.
How Grok works
Models and training
Like other assistants, Grok's models learn from training data collected up to a knowledge cutoff. xAI's documentation is direct about the limit: Grok has "no access to realtime events without search tools enabled."
Web search and X search
To answer current questions, Grok uses two search tools. xAI's search tools documentation says Web Search lets Grok search the web in real time and browse pages, and results come with citations. X Search lets it look through posts on X. Developers using the API can even limit web search to, or exclude, up to five specific domains.
Agents and integrations
xAI has expanded Grok beyond chat. Its news page lists Grok Bot, always-on agents introduced in August 2026, and shows Grok 4.6 becoming available through Microsoft Foundry, Amazon Bedrock and GitHub Copilot. That means Grok models can appear inside other companies' products, not just xAI's own apps.
How to check your visibility in Grok
- Ask Grok your buyers' questions. Run realistic prompts about your category and brand, repeat them over time and note which brands and sources appear.
- Check the facts. Look for outdated prices, services or locations, which often point to old pages or listings that need fixing.
- Look at the citations. When Grok cites sources, see which sites it relies on for your category. Those are the places where coverage matters.
- Watch your X presence. Keep your X profile accurate and pay attention to public conversation about your brand, since Grok can draw on it.
- Make sure your site can be read. Check robots.txt, firewall rules and server logs to confirm AI bots can reach your key pages, and that important content loads in the initial HTML.
Common mistakes and misconceptions
"Grok only uses X posts." Grok searches the web as well as X, and its models are trained on broad data. Your website and third-party coverage still matter.
"Grok always knows the latest news." Without search tools enabled, it only knows what's in its training data. Even with search, it depends on what it can find.
"Grokipedia works like Wikipedia." Readers can't edit Grokipedia directly. Wikipedia's article notes that suggested edits were reviewed by Grok, and reports that edit processing stopped in late April 2026.
"If we're visible in ChatGPT, we're visible in Grok." Each assistant uses different models, search systems and sources. Results can differ a lot, so test each platform that matters to your audience.
Grok vs. other AI assistants
Grok's main difference is its connection to X. ChatGPT Search, Perplexity and Google Gemini rely mainly on the open web and their own search indexes, while Grok adds real-time posts from X. For brands with an active audience on X, that can be an advantage. For brands with little X presence, the web remains the main source of information about them.
How Butter approaches Grok
We treat Grok as one of several AI platforms a brand may need to be visible on, and we start with fundamentals: crawler access, indexable content and accurate information across the web.
Our GEO plans start at $399/month and include monthly AI prompt testing, indexing strategy, schema markup guidance, knowledge graph submissions and on-page recommendations. We are careful not to overstate what anyone can control. We can remove technical barriers and strengthen your content and reputation, but how Grok chooses its sources is up to xAI.
Frequently asked questions
Who makes Grok?
Grok is built by xAI, the AI company founded by Elon Musk. SpaceX announced it was acquiring xAI in February 2026, bringing Grok and X under SpaceX.
Does Grok search the web?
Yes. Grok can search the web in real time and browse pages, with citations, and it can also search posts on X. Without search, it relies on its training data, which for Grok 4.7 runs to May 2026.
How do I get my brand mentioned by Grok?
There's no direct way to submit a brand. Make sure your site is crawlable and accurate, earn coverage on sites Grok cites for your category, keep your X profile current and test Grok regularly to see how it describes you.
Is Grok the same as Grokipedia?
No. Grok is the AI assistant. Grokipedia is a separate AI-generated encyclopedia whose articles were written by Grok. It launched in October 2025.