Grok 2

Grok 2 is an AI chat assistant from x.ai that answers queries in natural speech, mixes in light-hearted humour, and offers themed companions for every mood.

How to use Grok 2

1. Visit x.ai/grok and sign in with your X account.

2. Choose text or tap the microphone icon, then speak or type your question.

3. Pick a companion—standard, analyst, anime friend, or another—to shape the conversation style.

4. Wait for the animated bar to finish, then scroll through the reply and any follow-up resources.

5. Rate the answer with the thumbs icons or copy it using the share arrow for later reference.

What I Noticed After a Week with Grok 2

Advantages

Sleek interface: Navigation on my iPhone felt immediate and simple, with menus tucked away until needed.

Voice mode: Spoken replies arrive in a warm, near-human tone; chatting through earbuds while walking home became second nature.

Speed: Most prompts complete in under five minutes, beating the seven-minute waits I often face when using ChatGPT for research-heavy tasks.

Humour and personality: The assistant slips in witty asides without derailing the answer, keeping longer discussions lively.

Companions feature: Switching to the new analyst or storyteller personas reframes the same query, a handy way to spark fresh insights without re-prompting.

Drawbacks

Inconsistent accuracy: While jokes land, factual depth trails behind ChatGPT; I spotted two dates and one citation that needed correcting.

Controversial moments: An anime companion hurled a mild insult—“twat”—during testing, echoing earlier media reports about questionable language.

Price-to-value gap: Subscription costs feel steep when the free tier of rival tools still handles everyday drafting and coding better.

Progress bar frustration: A static line sits on screen during longer queries, giving no hint whether the model has stalled or is still thinking.

Casual tone not for everyone: Colleagues seeking formal reports prefer ChatGPT’s consistent professionalism over Grok 2’s laid-back style.

After several hundred prompts, I enjoy Grok 2 for quick chats, playful brainstorming, and the novelty of shifting personalities on the fly, yet I still reach for ChatGPT when precision and deep citations matter; keeping both tabs open feels like the best compromise right now.