Getting Started: The Interface and Your First Queries

Where to Find Grok

Grok is available in three places, and you do not need a paid X subscription to use any of them:

• grok.com — The primary web interface. Works in any browser on any device. This is the best place to start.
• Inside X (formerly Twitter) — Tap the Grok icon in the X sidebar on desktop, or the Grok button in the X mobile app. Useful for queries about what you are seeing in your feed.
• The Grok mobile app — A standalone iOS and Android app with all the same features as the web version, plus voice mode.

Creating Your Account

Visit grok.com and choose how to sign in: Google, Apple, or an existing X account. A free account gives you access to Grok 4, Aurora image generation, and real-time X and web search — no credit card required.

The free tier has daily usage limits. xAI does not publish an exact message count, and the cap adjusts based on server demand. In practice, the free tier handles dozens of normal conversations per day. If you reach the cap, the interface tells you when access resets.

The Interface at a Glance

The grok.com layout is straightforward:

• Sidebar (left) — Your conversation history. Each conversation is saved and searchable. Click the pen icon at the top to start a new chat.
• Chat input (bottom centre) — Where you type your message. Press Enter or click the send button. The paperclip icon lets you attach files and images.
• Model selector — A dropdown near the input lets you switch between Grok 4, Grok 3, and smaller variants. Use Grok 4 for the best results.
• DeepSearch — A button near the input for SuperGrok subscribers. Activating it runs a multi-step research query instead of a single answer.
• Think toggle — Also for SuperGrok. Turns on extended reasoning, where Grok works through a problem before giving its final answer.

Your First Conversation

Type any question and press Enter. Grok responds with three things:

1. An answer — Direct, often opinionated, usually more concise than ChatGPT on the same question.
2. Sources — Web pages and sometimes X posts that informed the answer. These are clickable so you can verify any claim.
3. Follow-up suggestions — Grok often proposes related questions at the bottom of its response. Click one to continue the thread.

To continue a conversation, keep typing in the same thread. Grok remembers everything said earlier in that session.

Ask something time-sensitive first: What happened in [a topic you follow] in the last 24 hours? The answer will include real X posts and recent web results. This is the fastest way to feel the difference from a static AI model.

Free vs. SuperGrok: What Actually Changes

The free tier is genuinely useful. It includes Grok 4, live X search, real-time web search, and Aurora image generation. That covers most everyday tasks without spending anything.

SuperGrok ($30/month) adds:

• DeepSearch — Multi-step autonomous research. Grok runs several queries, reads the results, and writes a full report. Takes 30 to 120 seconds but goes far deeper than a standard query.
• Think mode — Extended reasoning. Most useful for complex maths, multi-step analysis, and coding tasks where logic accuracy matters more than speed.
• Higher limits — More messages per day, more Aurora image generations, and priority access to new features as they launch.

X Premium ($8/month) and Premium+ ($40/month) also include some Grok access, though the feature set differs from the standalone SuperGrok plan. If you are already an X subscriber, check what Grok tier you have before paying separately.

Try This

After signing up at grok.com, complete these three steps in order:

1. Ask a time-sensitive question — something about this week. Notice the X posts and web sources in the response, and note the timestamps on the sources.
2. Upload a PDF by clicking the paperclip icon. Ask Grok to summarise it or answer a specific question from the document.
3. Type Generate an image of a futuristic city at sunrise to try Aurora. Your first image will arrive in about ten seconds.

You have now used Grok's three most-used features — real-time research, document analysis, and image generation — all in the first five minutes.