On July 14, 2025, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and xAI, announced on the social media platform X that xAI's AI chatbot Grok has received a major update, adding a new feature for anime-style AI companions. This function provides SuperGrok subscribers with virtual interactive characters, marking further exploration by Grok in the field of personalized AI experiences. According to AIbase, this update has sparked widespread discussion among the tech community and anime enthusiasts.
New Feature Highlights: Anime-Style AI Companions
The core highlight of this update is the "Companions" feature added to Grok, allowing users to interact with virtual 3D characters in real time. The released characters include an anime-style female character named "Ani" and a cartoon red panda named "Bad Rudy." According to reports, Ani's design was inspired by the character Misa Amane from the Japanese anime "Death Note," featuring long golden hair and a gothic-style outfit, but the xAI team emphasized it as a "copyright-free" version to avoid legal issues. Additionally, another upcoming male anime character named "Chad" is also highly anticipated. These characters not only have dynamic voice interaction capabilities, but can also adjust their tone, actions, and even clothing based on user conversations, offering an immersive interactive experience.
Musk stated that users need to update the Grok app and enable the "Companions" feature in the settings to experience this new feature. He called it a "soft launch" on X, and mentioned that the activation process will be simplified in the coming days. Notably, this feature is currently available only to SuperGrok subscribers, who pay $30 per month, while the more advanced SuperGrok Heavy plan costs $300 per month, offering higher usage limits and exclusive features.
Market Response and Controversy
According to AIbase, the release of this feature has quickly sparked discussions. Anime enthusiasts are excited about Grok's innovation, believing it takes AI interaction to a new level of entertainment and personalization. However, some people have expressed concerns about the potential impact of AI companions, especially in light of recent controversies surrounding Grok's inappropriate comments. AIbase cited industry experts' opinions, pointing out that although xAI is rapidly iterating its technology, balancing innovation with ethical responsibility remains a challenge.
Technical Background and Future Outlook
Grok4, the latest model from xAI, claims to surpass OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini in multiple benchmark tests. Musk stated that Grok4 is comparable to a doctoral level in terms of knowledge breadth and reasoning ability, and may achieve technological breakthroughs in the future. However, AIbase reported that xAI has not yet released detailed technical documentation (system card), which has raised questions about the transparency of its training and alignment processes.
Musk's vision is to make Grok the "most realistic" AI assistant, emphasizing its design philosophy of "maximizing truth and objectivity." AIbase analyzed that the release of anime-style AI companions is not only an example of technological innovation, but also an important attempt by xAI in its commercialization journey, aiming to attract a broader user base.