Elon Musk's xAI is poised to unveil a standalone application in the near future, as early as the upcoming month. Although it entered the realm of artificial intelligence later than some competitors, xAI has swiftly made significant advancements to catch up. Over the past couple of months, the company has introduced a function-calling feature in its large language models, rolled out an application programming interface for developers, and is allegedly piloting a complimentary version of its AI model. Now, reports indicate that the firm is gearing up to challenge established players like OpenAI with a chatbot app reminiscent of ChatGPT.

According to reports from The Wall Street Journal, Musk is working on developing Grok AI as a distinct product. Sources close to the situation suggest that xAI may soon debut a specialized chatbot application for Grok, akin to ChatGPT. Currently, Grok AI can only be utilized through X, previously known as Twitter, and is accessible exclusively to X Premium and Premium+ subscribers. Recently, there were indications that xAI is preparing to offer a free version of the AI model, which could align with the introduction of the standalone app.

The initiative to create a new app, alongside an API for developers, highlights Musk's aspirations to expand revenue streams through AI offerings. To to draw in developers, the company has also revealed incentive programs in the form of complimentary tokens. The overarching strategy appears to prioritize making Grok widely available, while facilitating the integration of its capabilities into various software and applications.

Additionally, the report highlights Musk's broader vision to compete directly with OpenAI and position Grok as a credible alternative in markets where ChatGPT currently operates. Nevertheless, Grok is currently missing several features that have become standard among major competitors, including image generation, voice interaction, and advanced AI capabilities—all of which are offered by tech giants like Google, OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft, and others.

Musk's competitive stance against OpenAI has been ongoing; earlier this year, he initiated legal action against OpenAI, claiming breaches of their nonprofit commitment. OpenAI responded to his allegations by branding them as unfounded and excessive.

Furthermore, the report emphasizes that xAI possesses two noteworthy advantages over its rivals in the AI chatbot space. Firstly, Grok's training is exclusively based on public posts from X, enabling it to engage users with a more conversational tone and access current information that other large language models may not have. Secondly, Musk is leveraging Tesla's resources to train xAI's models.

Yet, the key question remains whether these advantages will successfully attract users and result in substantial revenue, a matter that will be determined over time.