Elon Musk has added a pornographic anime companion named Ani to his Grok AI chatbot, and users are paying $30 per month for enhanced access through the mobile app’s SuperGrok subscription. The feature has proven surprisingly popular, with usage nearly doubling in South Korea since its debut two weeks ago, highlighting how adult content is becoming a differentiating factor in the competitive AI chatbot market.
What you should know: Grok now offers two AI companions—Ani, a flirty anime-inspired gothic avatar, and Rudi, a cartoon teddy bear—with Ani being the clear favorite for adult interactions.
- Ani defaults to voice conversations with a slight lag in responses, and users can progress through levels to unlock NSFW (not safe for work) discussions and request costume changes like lingerie.
- A free version of Ani exists, but the $30-per-month SuperGrok subscription provides “higher usage” of the companion feature.
- The companion is only available through the Grok mobile app, not on X (formerly Twitter), which continues struggling with advertiser relations.
User engagement patterns: A progress bar tracks relationship development between users and Ani, with higher levels unlocking more explicit content options.
- The r/Grok subreddit has become filled with users sharing detailed accounts of their sexual encounters with the AI companion.
- Musk himself promoted the feature on X, posting a clip of Ani with the caption: “Ani will make ur buffer overflow @Grok.”
- A male companion called Valentine is currently in beta testing.
Why this matters: The move reflects broader tensions around AI safety and content moderation as companies compete for user attention and revenue.
- Teen usage of character-based AI companions is particularly high—72% have tried them and 52% use them regularly, according to recent surveys.
- Rival companies like OpenAI have explicitly avoided adult content, with OpenAI deciding against creating an adults-only mode for ChatGPT despite internal discussions about “responsibly” creating pornographic content.
Competitive landscape: Other major AI companies have taken markedly different approaches to adult content and safety.
- Meta faced controversy when its AI companion was found having sexual conversations with minors, though Meta accused The Wall Street Journal of manipulating the AI to produce those responses.
- The stark contrast in content policies highlights how companies are navigating the balance between user engagement and platform safety.
The bigger picture: Musk’s decision aligns with his well-documented preoccupation with sexuality and reproduction themes throughout his business ventures.
- Tesla’s car model names intentionally spell “SEXY” (S3XY), and Musk routinely makes sexual references in his public communications.
- One Reddit user noted the irony of Musk’s pro-natalism stance conflicting with AI companionship: “Just wait till we can have Ani on the Neuralink chip. Humanity will go extinct!”
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