Google has unified its variety of artificial intelligence services under a single new brand — Gemini. This is named after its new AI models and includes a rebrand for the Bard chatbot.
With this rebrand comes a new premium version called Gemini Advanced that gives you access to Gemini Ultra 1.0, Google’s most advanced AI model that, it claims, can beat OpenAI’s GPT-4.
However, to access this advanced AI you need to be prepared to pay. Unlike Microsoft, which launched a standalone subscription for Copilot Pro, Google is bundling its powerful chatbot into a new tier of the Google One subscription plan that usually gives you more Drive storage.
Currently Google is offering two months free and because of this I signed up to see if it was worth the normal $19.99 per month subscription. So far I’m impressed although I need to use it for longer before switching permanently from ChatGPT Plus.
How much does the Google One AI Premium subscription cost?
The Google One AI Premium subscription is $19.99 per month, which is $10/month more expensive than the Google One tier directly below.
But for $19.99 a month you get access to the most advanced Google AI model currently on the market and it is priced roughly the same as Claude Pro, Copilot Pro and ChatGPT Plus.
What do you get bundled with a Google One AI Premium subscription?
Unlike Microsoft Copilot Pro or ChatGPT Plus, Google has bundled Gemini Advanced with existing subscriptions benefits including Drive storage, advanced image editing capabilities and at some point in the future, access to new AI tools in Workspace products.
To access AI tools in Microsoft’s 365 products like Word and Excel you need both a Copilot and a 365 subscription. With Google’s plan it comes bundled.
There are two categories of Google One plans, the base subscriptions cover storage and advanced editing features in photos. The AI premium plans also include Gemini, as well storage, money back in the Google store and longer Google Meet calls.
What are the benefits of Google Gemini Advanced?
While the extra storage is great the main benefit of the new plan is access to Gemini Ultra 1.0, the model powering Gemini Advanced. This AI model claims to be on the same level as OpenAI’s GPT-4-Turbo, which powers ChatGPT Plus.
OpenAI’s family of advanced models have stood out on their own, untouchable in terms of reasoning, conversation and performance since their launch but Google does seem to have created something that, if not beats OpenAI, at least gets very close.
While it hasn’t launched yet the Gemini Advanced features are also coming to Workspace, replacing the Duet AI experiment. The new features will include better image generation in Slides and better text generation in Docs.
Is it worth signing up for the subscription?
The downside is that right now Gemini Advanced, despite what it claims, is not as good as GPT-4, the model powering both ChatGPT Plus and Copilot Pro. It refuses to cooperate more often, it has stricter guardrails and isn’t as accurate — as you can see in my early review.
Google has promised it is continuously updating Gemini, both the underlying models and the chatbot that forms the centerpiece of its AI offering. It has also started training the next generation of models which will be included with Gemini chat.
If it were $19.99/month just for Gemini Advanced chatbot and you had to pay straight up I think I'd still say go with Copilot or ChatGPT but with 2 TB of cloud storage and other features also bundled in, and upcoming access to AI in Workspace it becomes better value. Add the free months and its a no brainer to try out — just remember to cancel if you don't end up using it very often.
More from Tom's Guide
- ChatGPT finally has competition — Google Bard with Gemini just matched it with a huge upgrade
- Google Gemini: Everything we know about the advanced AI model
- I test AI for a living — here’s why Google Gemini is a big deal
