xAI Moves to Compete with ChatGPT and Gemini
Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, is steadily enhancing its Grok chatbot to match the capabilities of top AI players like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini. The latest step forward? A new “memory” feature that allows Grok to remember user-specific details from past conversations.
How Grok’s Memory Works
Announced Wednesday night, the feature enables Grok to provide more personalized responses over time. For instance, if you’ve asked Grok for movie recommendations in the past, it can now tailor future suggestions based on what it has learned about your preferences—assuming you’ve interacted with it enough for the memory system to kick in.
This memory feature is similar to those found in competing chatbots. ChatGPT already includes memory that was recently upgraded to track a user’s entire conversation history. Gemini, too, offers persistent memory to help it customize interactions.
User Transparency and Control
In a post from the official Grok account on X (formerly Twitter), xAI emphasized that “memories are transparent.” Users can view exactly what Grok remembers and have the option to delete individual memories. Grok users can manage this feature through the Data Controls page in settings, and remove memories directly from the chat interface on the web (with Android support coming soon).
Availability and Regional Restrictions
The memory feature is currently in beta and available on Grok.com as well as through the Grok iOS and Android apps. However, it’s not yet accessible to users in the EU or U.K. due to regional compliance issues. Users can disable the feature entirely through the app settings if they prefer not to use it.
Coming Soon to X
xAI also mentioned that it’s working on bringing the memory feature to the Grok chatbot integrated within X, though no official release date has been announced for that version yet.
