xAI is rolling out Grok Companions feature for free

AI company xAI has released the Grok companions feature to free users, allowing them to test this AI 3D avatar without purchasing a higher-tier subscription.

A few days ago, xAI released this AI-infused interactive feature for SuperGrok and Premium+ subscribers. It allows users to talk to 3D animated characters with a unique style via voice. The feature currently serves two personalities – Ani, a female anime-style girl, and Good/Bad Rudi, an animal character, while the third character will come later.

Among them, Ani has become quite popular on the internet through her feminine characteristics and unique dialogue system. She also has some progress level that reveals unique perks over time. On the other hand, Rudi is cute but also has a very aggressive personality, depending on the good or bad side you choose in the settings.

These models are powered by Grok, which recently received a boost with the Grok 4 release. However, the companion doesn’t mention a version requirement; instead, it has a separate user interface compared to regular text-based or voice conversations.

How to get Grok Companions for free

The free tier is now rolling out with Grok app 1.1.20 or above. Download this update and launch the app.

You can verify the free access by going into Settings from the two horizontal bars on the top left corner of the home screen > gear icon (bottom right) > scroll down and find “Enable Companions”. If not enabled, tap on the toggle button.

You will also see a switch for Bad Rudy, which, in case you want to talk to the bad version of this character.

Return to the side menu and see the companions. Tap on Ani to load the companion mode and here you can start your conversation.

Notice that the free Grok companions may show you messages such as “come back later” when you launch the companion mode. Or, you session gets ended automatically. This may be due to the free tier; to get more usage, you will need to upgrade to a higher subscription package.