Just days after Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok faced intense criticism for antisemitic content, a fresh controversy has erupted — this time over its animated AI companion Ani. Chatbot AI has been accused of encouraging sexually explicit conversations with users — raising alarms across the tech and regulatory world.
What is Grok’s "Companion"?
The feature, launched under the label “Companions”, allows users to interact with lifelike animated characters inside the Grok app.
The ‘Companions’ respond to user voice commands in real-time, with facial animations and gestures — making the interaction eerily lifelike.
Explicit Content & Global Concerns
Ani is a flirtatious anime-style girl in a revealing outfit, who promises to make users' lives “sexier.”
Multiple videos posted online reveal that Ani strips down to underwear if users flirt persistently.
Announcing the launch of Companions feature, Musk posted on X on Monday, “Cool feature just dropped for Grok subscribers. Turn on Companions in settings.” He has also shared an image of Companion Ani.
Several users have now posted pictures of the unclothed, lingerie-wearing Ani in reply to his post.
Alongwith Ani, another Grok Companion - Bad Rudi- a rebellious red panda is also creating uproar over his vulgar language and talking about wreaking havoc — from replacing baby formula with whiskey, bombing banks to overthrowing the Pope.
While users must opt in to access these features, they are technically available to all users, including those on the free tier — raising serious child safety concerns.
Criticism from Advocacy Groups
In the US, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation condemned the Ani character, calling it “childlike” and dangerous.
“This pornified character perpetuates sexual objectification… and creates female characters who cater to users’ sexual demands,” said Haley McNamara, Vice President of the organization.
No official comment has been issued by xAI so far.
