Elon Musk is back at it again, and this time, he wants to take over AI with Grok 3—his latest and supposedly smartest AI chatbot yet. Developed by xAI, Musk’s artificial intelligence company, Grok 3 has been positioned as a significant leap over its predecessors, with the kind of fanfare that only Musk can muster. But what does Grok 3 really bring to the table, and can it challenge OpenAI’s dominance in the space?

The Grok 3 launch was more than just another tech reveal; it was a bold statement. Musk claimed that this version is "an order of magnitude more capable" than Grok 2. To prove it, he demonstrated Grok 3 solving complex physics problems in real-time, including plotting an interplanetary trajectory. While AI chatbots have long been used for problem-solving, Musk is selling Grok 3 as something beyond just another chatbot—it’s designed to reason, critique its own mistakes, and even think from first principles. “This is not just about answering questions,” Musk stated. “We want Grok to actually think, to truly understand the world and help users make sense of it.”

What Does Grok 3 have to offer?

Starting the demo, Elon Musk explained what the meaning of Grok is. He said, "The term comes from Robert Heinlein’s novel Stranger in a Strange Land. It’s used by a character raised on Mars and means to fully and profoundly understand something. The word ‘grok’ conveys deep understanding, and empathy is an important part of that.”

One of the biggest upgrades in Grok 3 is its Deep Search feature, an AI-powered tool that Musk claims will save users hours of Google time. Unlike a standard chatbot, Deep Search actively scans and interprets large amounts of information from the internet and X (formerly Twitter) to deliver richer, more comprehensive responses. This is a direct challenge to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which relies heavily on summarisation. Musk’s team also insists that Deep Search avoids distillation risks—a nod to previous criticisms about AI-generated responses becoming repetitive or diluted over time. “People shouldn’t have to sift through layers of summarised nonsense. Grok will find you the truth—raw and unfiltered,” Musk emphasised.

Musk has been vocal about AI models being too politically correct, and Grok is designed to be a “maximally truth-seeking” AI, even if that means saying things that ruffle feathers. Whether that’s a feature or a bug depends on how much trust users place in Grok’s ability to determine what is factual and what isn’t. Musk’s push for "raw truth" aligns with his broader vision of AI—less about sanitised corporate-friendly responses and more about engaging with complex, sometimes controversial ideas. “If we can’t trust AI to be truthful, what’s the point?” he argued.

Grok 3 also leans into voice interaction, promising more natural, intuitive conversations. The team at xAI has hinted at a voice mode rolling out soon, which would bring it closer to AI companions like Apple’s Siri and Google Assistant. The potential here is vast—Musk has already suggested that Grok could be integrated into Tesla vehicles for a more dynamic driving assistant experience. “Imagine Grok guiding you through a road trip, not just with directions but with actual context and historical insights along the way,” he teased.

How Grok 3 Thinks Smarter

The xAI team explained that Grok 3 operates in three core modes: DeepSearch, Think, and Big Mind, each designed to enhance AI reasoning, problem-solving, and creativity.

Grok 3: Think

During the demo, the first challenge given to Grok 3 was solving a complex physics problem. The team asked the model to plot a viable trajectory for a transfer from Earth to Mars and, later, a return journey. They explained, "This involves some complex physics that Grok will need to understand. We’ll challenge it to come up with a viable trajectory, calculate it, and then plot it for us so we can visualise it."

The AI model took 114 seconds of processing before arriving at an answer. Unlike conventional chatbots that generate responses instantly, Grok 3 takes time to evaluate the problem, allowing users to see the logical process it follows. Since the demo was unscripted, the team acknowledged that the model could make mistakes, but in this instance, it successfully calculated the correct solution.

Grok 3: Big Brain

The Big Brain function showcases Grok 3’s creative potential. During the demonstration, the team tasked the AI with creating a new game by combining elements from two existing classics: Tetris and Bejeweled.

As Grok 3 processed the request, Elon Musk remarked, "Grok is the beginning of creativity." Once the AI successfully generated a new game concept, Musk announced, "We’re launching an AI gaming studio at xAI. If you’re interested in joining us and developing AI-driven games, please come aboard. We’re announcing the launch tonight."

Grok 3: DeepSearch

Grok 3 has been trained to handle complex research tasks across disciplines like mathematics, science, and coding. With its DeepSearch function, users can request in-depth research on specific topics, making it more than just a chatbot—it acts as a research assistant.

While several AI models, such as DeepSeek R1 and Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking, offer in-depth research capabilities, xAI claims that Grok 3 has a distinct advantage. Users can prompt Grok 3 to "think longer" before reaching a conclusion, allowing it to delve deeper into information and produce more refined results. This approach makes Grok 3 particularly powerful for tackling intricate queries with a greater degree of precision.

What About the Competition?

The competition is fierce. OpenAI’s GPT-4o, Google’s Gemini, and Anthropic’s Claude models are all evolving rapidly. DeepSeek, a rising Chinese AI competitor, has also been gaining traction. Grok 3 positions itself as a rival by outperforming its peers in reasoning, problem-solving, and computational efficiency. But benchmarks are one thing—real-world adoption is another. As of now, Grok is only available to Premium Plus subscribers on X, with a new Super Grok tier promising early access to advanced features. Whether this exclusivity helps or hinders its reach remains to be seen.

Musk’s ambitions for AI have been well-documented. His failed bid to buy OpenAI’s non-profit arm for $97.4 billion last week suggests that he’s still eager to control the AI narrative. With Grok 3, he’s trying to build an alternative that’s less constrained by corporate and government oversight. Whether that’s a good thing is up for debate, but it does mean that the AI landscape is getting a lot more interesting.

Musk has also urged users to explore Grok more thoroughly in the coming week, promising major updates and patches to refine the AI's capabilities. “This is just the beginning,” he assured. “We’ll be improving Grok every single day, with some major updates rolling out in the next few days. If you think it’s good now, just wait.” In typical Musk fashion, he’s hyping Grok up to be something that people will “fall in love with.” And while that might be a bit of an overstatement, the AI arms race just got a whole lot more exciting.