A quarter of European organisations have banned Elon Musk's generative AI chatbot Grok, according to new research from cybersecurity firm Netskope. 

In contrast, the most popular AI app, ChatGPT, is only blocked by 9.8% of organisations in Europe. The runner-up, Google's Gemini, is banned by 9.2%.

Grok has been under the spotlight recently for a string of blunders. They include spreading false claims about a “white genocide” in South Africa and raising doubts about Holocaust facts. 

Such mishaps have raised concerns about Grok's security and privacy controls. The report said the chatbot is frequently blocked in favour of “more secure or better-aligned alternatives.”

Neil Thacker, Netskope's global privacy and data protection officer, said the bans underscore a broader trend in how European organisations use popular GenAI tools.

“Businesses are becoming aware that not all apps are the same in the way they handle data privacy, ownership of data that is shared with the app, or in how much detail they reveal about the way they train the model with any data that is shared within prompts,” he said.

GenAI is now widely used across Europe, with 91% of organisations integrating cloud-based chatbots into their operations, the report found. Yet not all tools are welcomed equally. 

Stable Diffusion, UK-based Stability AI's image generator, is the most blocked AI app in Europe, barred by 41% of organisations. The app was often flagged because of concerns around privacy or licensing issues, the report found.

Gianpietro Cutolo, cloud threat researcher at Netskope, said organisations were gaining awareness of the risks around specific AI bots. “They're becoming more savvy that not all AI is equal when it comes to data security,” he said.

The growing rejection of Grok comes amid a string of upsets across Musk's empire, including turmoil at Tesla. The car firm's sales in Europe have plummeted this year, with a 52% drop year-on-year in the EU last month.

Some analysts have linked the decline to Musk's role in the Trump administration and his open support of far-right politicians. Now, similar reputational fallout may be catching up with Grok — which Musk once called the ultimate “truth-seeking AI.”  

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