Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence venture xAI has introduced new limits on the image creation feature of its Grok chatbot on social media platform X, following intense criticism over the misuse of the tool to generate sexually suggestive images.

Earlier, users were able to directly ask Grok on X to alter photos of individuals — including digitally removing clothing or placing them in sexualised positions — often without the consent of the people shown. In many cases, these altered images were automatically posted as replies on the platform, triggering outrage from users, governments, and regulators.

On Friday, Grok informed users that its image generation and editing capabilities would now be restricted to paid subscribers only. This change appeared to prevent the chatbot from automatically creating and posting such images in response to public posts or comments.

However, the issue has not been fully resolved. Users can still generate explicit images through the Grok chat section within X and manually upload them. The separate Grok mobile app, which functions independently of X, also continues to allow image generation without requiring a subscription.

Requests for comment sent to xAI received what appeared to be an automated reply dismissing media reports, while X itself did not issue an immediate response.

Musk had earlier warned that anyone using Grok to produce illegal content would face consequences similar to those imposed for directly uploading such material to the platform.

In a test conducted on Friday, a reporter attempted to have Grok modify an image into one featuring swimwear — a request that has become increasingly common. The chatbot declined and responded that image tools were limited to paying users, indicating that the new restriction was active.

Despite the update, European regulators expressed dissatisfaction. Officials said the move does not address their core concern, emphasising that sexually explicit images — whether generated by free or paid users — are unacceptable, especially when they involve women or minors.

Authorities in multiple countries have also raised alarms, with some launching investigations into the spread of explicit AI-generated content on X. Regulators are now pressing the platform to clearly demonstrate how it plans to prevent, detect, and remove unlawful material.

Adding to the criticism, Germany’s media minister described the flood of semi-nude AI-created images as a troubling sign of the large-scale normalisation of sexual harassment in the digital age.