Elon Musk announced on 19 July 2025 that his company, xAI, is developing a child-friendly AI application called Baby Grok. The app is designed specifically for users under the age of 13 and aims to provide safe, educational interactions for younger audiences. The announcement followed criticism of the Grok 2.0 assistant, which had previously raised concerns about user safety due to insufficient content filtering. The development of the new application forms part of xAI’s efforts to restore its damaged reputation and comply with tightening regulations, while expanding into the rapidly growing digital content market for children, which is estimated to reach 25 billion dollars by 2025.
During Baby Grok's development, xAI is collaborating with child psychologists and education experts to ensure the application's suitability for different age groups, while also significantly strengthening content filtering mechanisms and parental control functions. In his social media announcement, Musk emphasised that Baby Grok will operate within strict safety guardrails and that children's welfare is the primary consideration during development, though he did not detail exactly what filtering systems would be used to screen out explicit or harmful content. XAI has redirected 35% of its current 520-person development team to the Baby Grok project and plans to hire an additional 75 child development and safety technology specialists by the end of 2025, indicating the company's commitment to the new product.
Experts and regulatory authorities, however, remained sceptical about the announcement, particularly in light of previous scandals. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has already announced it will conduct a thorough examination"of the application before its release, while Emily Wilson, director of the Children's Digital Wellbeing Foundation, warned that any AI system intended for children must have extremely robust safety mechanisms. According to xAI's statement, a beta version of Baby Grok will be available to a limited number of users in September 2025, with full market launch expected in the first quarter of 2026, provided the application meets stringent internal and external safety checks. The company has allocated $120 million for development and marketing, and established a $15 million fund to support child safety research.
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Elon Musk’s AI startup xAI plans to release Baby Grok — a simplified, child-friendly version of its Grok chatbot designed for safe and educational use. The announcement was revealed on X, with few additional details provided.
ET Online
