Grok Companions Explained: Ani, Rudy, and Valentine

Grok companions are animated AI characters inside the Grok app that talk with voice, gestures, and a set personality. xAI launched the feature in July 2025, starting with a character named Ani.

Important 2026 update: on July 24, 2026, xAI said it is retiring the 3D avatar companion mode soon. Your main chat history stays, but the dedicated companion mode and animated avatars are being wound down. Verify current availability on x.ai before you subscribe.

This page is a factual roster and setup guide. It explains who each companion is, how to turn them on, what a subscription costs, and how the safety controls work.

For the romantic or AI-girlfriend use case, see our separate guide linked at the bottom. This page stays neutral.

What Are Grok Companions?

Grok companions are animated 3D AI characters built into the Grok app by xAI. Each one has a face, a voice, and a fixed personality you talk to instead of a plain text box.

The companions run on the same Grok models that power the standard chatbot. The difference is the presentation: an on-screen character reacts, speaks aloud, and holds a persona across chats.

xAI introduced the feature in mid-2025 and has added new characters since. Companions are a mode inside the Grok app, not a separate product.

• Animated characters with voice and lip-sync, not just text replies.
• Each companion keeps a consistent personality and backstory.
• Powered by Grok models under the hood.
• Accessed as a mode inside the Grok mobile app.

Meet the Companions: Ani, Rudy, Bad Rudy, and Valentine

Grok's main companions are Ani, Rudy (with its Bad Rudy mode), and Valentine. xAI has also added other characters such as Mika over time.

Ani is the flagship companion. She is an anime-styled character with a flirtatious persona, and she was the first companion xAI shipped.

Rudy is an animated red panda. He has a family-friendly storyteller side and a separate crude alter ego called Bad Rudy that uses rude, adult humor.

Valentine is a male companion aimed at users who want a masculine persona. The roster below summarizes each one.

• Companion | Personality | Notes
• Ani | Anime character, flirtatious and playful | The flagship companion; launched first in July 2025
• Rudy | Red panda, cute storyteller mode | Marketed as the lighter, kid-facing side of the character
• Bad Rudy | Same red panda, unhinged and crude | An uncensored adult mode with rude humor
• Valentine | Male companion, confident persona | Added for users who want a male character
• Mika | Additional companion character | One of the later characters xAI added to the lineup

How to Get and Turn on Grok Companions

You turn on companions inside the Grok mobile app after signing in and opening the companions menu. A paid SuperGrok plan is required for full access.

First download the Grok app from the App Store or Google Play and update to the latest version. Sign in with your X account.

Then tap the companions or avatar icon in the app to see the character list. Companions rolled out on iOS first and later reached Android in 2026.

Some characters and modes only appear once your account meets the plan and age requirements described below. For the core Grok chatbot features outside companion mode, see How to Use Grok.

• Install the Grok app on iOS or Android and update it.
• Sign in with your X account.
• Open the companions menu and pick a character.
• A SuperGrok subscription is needed for full companion access.

What Grok Companions Cost

Grok companions require a paid xAI plan, and reporting has placed SuperGrok around 30 dollars per month. xAI is the only authoritative source for the current price.

Higher tiers such as X Premium+ and heavier SuperGrok plans also exist at different prices. Cheaper tiers and the free plan do not unlock the full companion experience.

Prices and tier names change often. Verify current pricing on x.ai before you subscribe, because third-party numbers go stale quickly.

• Full companion access sits behind a paid plan, not the free tier.
• SuperGrok has been reported near 30 dollars per month.
• Higher tiers cost more and add other benefits.
• Verify current pricing on x.ai.

Are Grok Companions Safe?

Grok companions include mature content, so xAI gates the most explicit modes behind a paid plan, age verification, and region checks. Parents should treat the feature as adult software.

Some companions and modes are explicitly adult. Reporting has described a spicy mode that loosens content limits once an account is verified as 18 or older.

Age verification runs through your X account settings, and some regions require government ID through a third-party checker. Coverage of the launch also raised concerns about how easily minors could reach adult content.

Treat companion chats as data on xAI's servers. Avoid sharing personal, financial, or identifying details with any AI character.

• Explicit modes require a paid plan plus 18+ age verification.
• Some regions demand government ID through a third-party verifier.
• The feature is adult-oriented; supervise minors accordingly.
• Chats are processed by xAI, so keep sensitive details out.

Companions vs the Standard Grok Chatbot

The standard Grok chatbot answers questions in text; companions add a persistent character with voice and personality. Both use Grok models, but they serve different goals.

Use the standard chatbot for research, coding, writing, and factual answers. It stays neutral and focuses on the task.

Use a companion for casual, character-driven conversation. The tradeoff is that a strong persona can shade answers and is not built for precise work.

You can switch between the two inside the app. Many users keep the plain chatbot for work and treat companions as entertainment.

• Standard Grok: neutral, text-first, task focused.
• Companions: animated character, voice, fixed personality.
• Same underlying models, different experience.
• Companions are entertainment, not a research tool.

The Romantic Use Case and Where to Go Next

Some people use companions like Ani or Valentine as a romantic or AI-girlfriend experience, which is a distinct topic from this reference. We cover that separately.

This page stays a neutral roster: who the characters are, how to access them, and how the controls work.

If you want the romantic angle, safety notes, and setup for that specific use, read our dedicated guide linked below.

• Romantic use is a separate, opt-in way people use companions.
• See the AI-girlfriend guide for that use case.
• Compare Grok companions against other companion apps in the companion alternatives guide.

How to use Grok

You do not host Grok yourself — you use it through a tool, so "getting started" really means choosing the right one.

The fastest way to put Grok to work day to day is inside an AI IDE, and Cursor is the most popular — it supports it directly, so you can be working in minutes. Prefer a different editor? Windsurf, Zed, and GitHub Copilot drive these models too.