xAI’s new Grok image and video generator has a ‘spicy’ mode

xAI’s new Grok Imagine tool is an AI image and video generator that encourages users to make NSFW content. In contrast to rival generative AI video tools like Google’s Veo and OpenAI’s Sora, which try to block users from generating anything seedy, the Grok chatbot’s Imagine feature provides a “Spicy” generation mode that actively directs it to spit out nudity and sexualized content.

Grok Imagine includes text-to-image capabilities that allow users to generate pictures based on descriptions, or an image-to-video tool to make short clips, complete with audio effects like Google’s Veo 3 model. Unlike Veo, however, Grok Imagine won’t generate video from text descriptions directly — users are instead required to either select an existing image from their gallery, or generate something in Grok first for the tool to animate.

The image generation is less restrictive. Users can generate a variety of styles, including photorealism, anime, and illustrations, and it features a voice mode that allows prompts to be spoken rather than typed — something that children would love interacting with, according to xAI CEO Elon Musk. Video generation is based on the reference image uploaded by the user, and there are four modes to direct how it will be animated: Custom, Normal, Fun, and Spicy.

Musk describes Grok Imagine as “AI Vine,” a platform that he has long expressed interest in resurrecting. X users have already published their Grok Imagine experiments, with some of the “Spicy” options depicting photorealistic women flashing their breasts and genitals, and bikini-clad anime waifus sexily dancing against SpaceX rockets. More than 34 million images have been generated using the tool since Monday, according to Musk.

It’s unclear what, if any, content generation restrictions are in place for Grok Imagine, but guardrails have been very easy to bypass on Grok’s previous image generation tools. TechCrunch found in its own testing that Grok Imagine’s image capabilities have some restrictions around generating celebrity photos. We’ve not yet been able to test if the tool’s Spicy mode will undress images of real women that are uploaded as reference materials.

Imagine is available for SuperGrok and Premium Plus X subscribers via Grok’s iOS app. The tool has also started to roll out in early access for Grok’s Android app, but users are reporting that it’s currently limited to making images and lacks the video generation feature.