X Unveils 2024 Vision: Advancements in Peer-to-Peer Payments and AI Technology

Elon Musk has been articulating his ambitious vision for transforming X, previously known as Twitter, into an “everything app” since acquiring the platform over a year ago. This vision encompasses features like payments, creator tools, shopping, and more. Today, X has unveiled its roadmap for the upcoming year, which promises to include AI-driven experiences and the rollout of peer-to-peer payments among other initiatives.

While Musk’s timelines for launching products aren't always precise, X has actively worked to secure the necessary licenses for payment processing. As of December, X was licensed to process payments in 12 U.S. states, and it has recently expanded that number to 14 with new licenses in Arkansas and Pennsylvania.

Musk envisions a platform where users can seamlessly transfer money to one another and withdraw those funds to verified bank accounts. He has also hinted at future offerings of high-yield money market accounts to incentivize users to retain more of their funds on the X platform.

In a blog post released today, X announced plans to introduce peer-to-peer payments within the year, enhancing user utility and creating new commercial opportunities. This initiative suggests an integration with existing X functionalities, such as creator revenue sharing and online shopping. The company reiterated its commitment to investing in creators, content partnerships, original programming, full-funnel advertising, and brand safety—an area that has raised concerns among advertisers regarding ad placements next to inappropriate content.

Advertisers have been wary due to previous incidents where their ads appeared alongside toxic content, causing some to leave the platform. At a recent event, Musk provocatively told departing advertisers to “go f* themselves,” prompting X to target small-to-medium-sized advertisers instead. Nevertheless, the company remains eager to attract advertisers, as revealed in a recent post promoting its vertical video ad brand safety initiatives.

Additionally, today’s announcement indicated that AI will play a significant role in the platform's evolution, especially following the launch of Musk’s ChatGPT competitor, the innovative Grok chatbot. While specifics were limited, the post outlined plans for AI to enhance user and advertising experiences—improving search functionality, refining ads, and providing deeper customer insights.

Musk’s AI company, xAI, is also set to enhance consumer-facing features like the newly introduced “See Similar Posts,” along with an upcoming feature called “See Dissimilar Posts," which aims to encourage users to “challenge their perspectives.” However, achieving this goal may prove challenging if X continues its pattern of suspending journalists from the platform.

The company also provided a status update on its developments over the past year, highlighting the release of long-form video, audio and video calling, X Hiring (a job search feature), expansion of Communities, Grok, and various creator tools. Users have reportedly consumed “130 years’ worth of videos” lasting over 30 minutes and have participated in average call durations of 10 minutes. Additionally, over 80,000 creators have received payouts via X's revenue-sharing program within less than a year, although no specific payout figures were shared.