Elon Musk announced that Grok, developed by his artificial intelligence company xAI, will soon begin running ads. This move is seen as part of Musk’s strategy to both offset the massive cost of AI operations and deepen integration with the X platform.
Speaking at a live “Ask Me Anything” event with advertisers on X on Wednesday, Musk shared details of the plan. The vision is that Grok will answer user questions and display ads for products and services that offer a “specific solution” to those problems. “There will be that opportunity in Grok’s recommendations,” Musk said, signaling a contextual and targeted advertising model.
Grok will start showing ads
Musk stated that one of the primary goals of ad revenue is to cover the cost of the expensive chips, known as GPUs, that power Grok.
“Our sole focus so far has been to make Grok the smartest and most accurate AI in the world,” Musk said, adding, “I think we’ve been largely successful in that. So now we’ll turn our attention to the question of ‘how are we going to pay for all these expensive GPUs?’”
No specific date has been given for when this new advertising model will launch.
Musk’s move comes amid efforts to increase ad revenue on the X platform. Musk said the AI will simplify the process for advertisers, promising a system so good that an advertiser “can just upload the ad and not have to do anything else.” He also emphasized that ads running on the platform “must not be ugly,” and that a minimum aesthetic standard will be set.
However, this initiative comes shortly after the departure of former X CEO Linda Yaccarino. Yaccarino, an advertising veteran, has fought hard to prevent major advertisers from fleeing the platform due to content moderation disputes and brand safety concerns.
Grok, where ads will be placed, has itself been at the center of controversy in recent months. xAI was forced to publicly apologize after its chatbot made anti-Semitic jokes and inflammatory comments praising Adolf Hitler.
This situation poses a serious concern for advertisers wary of placing their brands alongside potentially controversial content. An X spokesperson reassured Business Insider, saying, “Elon and the X team have made clear our commitment to brand safety. This applies to all current and future ad placements.”
Ultimately, while Musk’s plan to integrate ads into Grok reflects a financial necessity and a technological vision, for it to be successful, both X and Grok must first regain the trust of advertisers.
