Launched on February 17, 2025, and rolled out to Premium+ subscribers stateside starting today, February 18, this isn’t just an upgrade—it’s a full-on flex aimed at toppling giants like OpenAI’s GPT-4o and Google’s Gemini.
Elon Musk, the mastermind behind xAI kicked things off with a livestream that had the platform buzzing. Calling Grok 3 “the smartest AI on Earth,” Musk wasn’t shy about the specs: this beast packs more than 10 times the compute power of its predecessor, Grok 2. We’re talking 200,000 GPUs humming away in a Memphis data center—Colossus, they call it—churning out a model that’s been pre-trained since early January and still leveling up fast.
So, what’s the juice? Grok 3 isn’t one-size-fits-all—it’s a family affair. You’ve got Grok 3 Mini for quick hits (less accuracy, more speed) and the heavy-hitting Grok 3 Reasoning models, designed to chew through math, science, and coding problems like they’re breakfast. Early benchmarks? They’re flexing hard. xAI claims Grok 3 outshines GPT-4o, DeepSeek’s V3, and Claude on tests like AIME (math) and GPQA (science). X posts are already lighting up with fans geeking out over the numbers—some even crowning it #1 on leaderboards like LMSYS’s Chatbot Arena.
But it’s not just about raw brainpower. Grok 3’s got tricks up its sleeve that’ll make X users drool. Enter DeepSearch, a “next-gen search engine” that scours the web and X posts to deliver razor-sharp answers. Imagine asking a wild question and getting a summary that’s half X-sourced sass, half internet deep-dive—tailor-made for the platform’s truth-seekers. Plus, there’s “Big Brain” mode for when you need the AI to flex extra compute on tricky queries. Oh, and a voice mode’s dropping next week—think Grok chatting you up like a sci-fi sidekick.
Musk’s pitch? This is “maximally truth-seeking AI,” built to cut through the noise and get real, even if it ruffles some feathers. That’s music to X’s free-speech crowd, who’ve been hyping it as the anti-woke chatbot we didn’t know we needed. Posts on X are already buzzing with takes—some call it a game-changer, others are side-eyeing the hype until they test it themselves.
For X Premium+ folks, it’s live now at $40/month (yeah, that’s up from $22—deal with it). Not subscribed? xAI’s tossing in a SuperGrok tier at $30/month for app and web access, promising early dibs on future goodies. And if you’re a dev, the Grok 3 API with DeepSearch is “coming soon.”
The timing’s juicy too—OpenAI’s chasing $40 billion in funding, while xAI’s reportedly gunning for $10 billion. Musk’s throwing shade at his old crew, saying they’ve lost the plot, while he’s out here building AI to “understand the universe.” Big questions like “Where are the aliens?” and “What’s the meaning of life?” are on the table, and X users are eating it up.
Down the road, xAI’s teasing more: synthesized voices, open-sourcing Grok 2, and maybe even a stab at legal verdicts (Musk says it’s been munching court cases). For now, Grok 3’s the shiny new toy in the X sandbox. Dive in, X fam—your timeline’s about to get a whole lot smarter.
DeepSearch is a standout feature introduced with xAI’s Grok 3, billed as a “next-generation search engine” designed to turbocharge how users dig up and process information. Unlike your standard chatbot response generator, DeepSearch takes a more agent-like approach—it’s built to tackle complex queries by scouring both the web and X posts, then stitching together a detailed, structured rundown of what it finds. Think of it as Grok 3’s power move to flex its reasoning chops and deliver answers that don’t just skim the surface.
Here’s how it works: when you throw a tricky or broad question at Grok 3, DeepSearch kicks in to hunt down relevant data across the internet and X’s real-time chatter. It doesn’t just grab random snippets—it analyzes the haul, reasons through it, and spits out a comprehensive report. These reports often break down into sections like initial findings, background context, and key insights, making it easier to wrap your head around dense topics. It’s less about quick one-liners and more about giving you the full picture, complete with citations so you can double-check the sources yourself.
What sets DeepSearch apart from, say, a Google search or even other AI tools like Perplexity’s Deep Research? For one, it’s got X’s live pulse baked in, so it can tap into what people are saying right now—perfect for cutting through trending noise or hot-button issues. Plus, it’s powered by Grok 3’s beefy reasoning models, which aim to mimic human-like problem-solving by critiquing, verifying, and backtracking as needed. The catch? It’s compute-heavy, so it’s not instant—expect a few minutes for the magic to happen, though that’s still faster than you’d manage manually.
Elon Musk and the xAI crew have pitched it as a game-changer for everyone from coders to curious randos, claiming it can save “hundreds of hours” of research time. It’s rolling out as a premium perk—X Premium+ users (now $40/month) get it first, and there’s a new SuperGrok tier ($30/month) that juices up your DeepSearch query limits. Down the line, it’ll hit the Grok 3 API for devs to play with too. Early buzz on X calls it intuitive and context-savvy, though it’s still fresh enough that real-world mileage might vary. In short, DeepSearch is Grok 3’s bid to be your go-to truth-digging sidekick—slow-cooked, but packed with flavor.
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Using the DeepSearch feature with Grok 3 is straightforward and designed to give you powerful, in-depth answers by tapping into both web and X data. Here’s how to get started and make the most of it, based on what’s out there about Grok 3’s rollout.
First, you’ll need access to Grok 3, which is currently limited to X Premium+ subscribers ($40/month) or SuperGrok tier users ($30/month). If you’re on X, update your app to the latest version—DeepSearch dropped with the Grok 3 debut on February 17, 2025, and you’ll want the freshest build. For non-X users, head to grok.com or the Grok app on iOS (Android’s coming soon), but you’ll still need one of those subscriptions.
Once you’re in, find the DeepSearch option in the Grok interface. It’s typically a toggle or mode you can enable—look for something like “DeepSearch” or “Advanced Search” alongside other modes like “Think” or “Big Brain.” On X, it might be baked into the chat window; on the app or web, it could be a dropdown or button. The exact UI might shift as xAI refines this beta rollout, but it’s meant to be intuitive.
Now, ask your question. DeepSearch shines with complex or broad queries—think “What’s the latest on fusion energy breakthroughs?” or “Summarize X sentiment on AI regulation.” Unlike Grok’s standard chat, DeepSearch doesn’t just riff off its training—it actively scans the internet and X posts in real time, then processes that data into a structured response. Expect it to take a bit longer than a quick reply, maybe a couple of minutes, since it’s crunching extra compute to reason through the info and avoid shallow takes.
When the answer hits, you’ll get a detailed breakdown—often with sections like context, findings, and insights—plus citations linking back to web sources or X posts. It’s built to show its work, so you can see how it pieced things together. If you want to tweak it, you can follow up with something like “Narrow this to X posts from the last week” or “Focus on scientific papers.” DeepSearch is agentic, meaning it adapts to your nudges.
A few tips: keep your prompts clear and specific for best results—vague questions might drown in too much data. Also, it’s compute-heavy, so if you’re on a lower tier, you might hit usage limits faster than with basic Grok chats. X Premium+ users get priority, but SuperGrok folks reportedly unlock more DeepSearch queries per month.
That’s the gist. It’s a beefy tool for digging deep, not just skimming surfaces—perfect for research buffs or anyone who thrives on X’s real-time edge. Expect some quirks as it’s fresh out of the oven, but xAI’s promising daily tweaks to sharpen it up.
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