X launches Stories, delivering news summarized by Grok AI | TechCrunch

🌈 Abstract

The article discusses how X (formerly Twitter) is using Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok to power a feature that summarizes personalized trending stories in the app's Explore section for Premium subscribers.

🙋 Q&A

[01] X's New Feature: Grok-Powered Story Summaries

1. What is the new feature X is rolling out for Premium subscribers?

• X is using Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok to provide summaries of the personalized trending stories in the app's Explore section for Premium subscribers.
• The summaries will appear at the top of the page when users tap into each trending story, offering an overview of the subject matter.

2. How does this feature differ from Twitter's previous approach to summarizing trends?

• Under Twitter's prior leadership, they began adding headlines and descriptions to trends in 2020, but the rollout was haphazard with some trends getting written up and others not.
• With Grok's Stories, all the top news on the For You page is summarized.

3. What is the purpose of this new feature?

• Access to Grok's AI-powered summaries is meant to be a selling point to push users to buy premium subscriptions.
• The Premium and Premium+ plans allow users to access Grok by tapping on the bottom middle button of the app.

4. How does Grok's approach to summarizing news differ from other AI chatbots?

• Grok's differentiator is its exclusive and real-time access to X data, allowing it to summarize the conversations on X rather than the article text itself.
• This approach is controversial, as what people are discussing on X may be their reactions or opinions, not the news itself.

[02] Implications for News Publishers

1. How are news publishers responding to the rise of AI-powered news summaries?

• Some news publishers are doing deals with AI providers like OpenAI's partnership with the FT.
• Others, such as Axel Springer, the AP, and Le Monde, have also announced similar moves.
• In X's case, it can access the news by way of the conversation around it, without having to partner to access the news content itself.

2. What are the potential impacts of AI-powered news summaries on news sites?

• There are concerns that at least some news sites may go out of business as page views drop due to AI summaries.
• However, there is also an opportunity for users to be interested in going "deeper into the source material once their curiosity is piqued."

3. What are the potential misinformation concerns with Grok's approach?

• Summarizing the conversations on X rather than the news content itself raises concerns about misinformation, as the summaries may not accurately reflect the actual news.