Google May Launch Low-Cost AI Plan To Rival ChatGPT
Key Takeaways
Google may soon offer a cheaper way to access its premium Gemini AI features. Code found in the latest Google app and Google One app points to a new 'AI Lite' subscription tier, potentially offering a lower-cost alternative to the $20-per-month Google One AI Pro plan.
Google One AI Lite: Cheaper AI For Everyone?
As revealed in a recent Android Authority APK Teardown report, app analyst AssembleDebug has unearthed text within Google's app code, suggesting that new pricing options could be on the way.
The code references features like 'Deep Research' and access to the Gemini 2.5 Pro model in connection with a new 'ROBIN_G1_UPGRADE_LITE_FREEMIUM' option. 'Robin' is reportedly Google's codename for Gemini.
These references strongly suggest that Google may soon offer improved access to features like Deep Research and the powerful Gemini 2.5 Pro AI model at a lower price, undercutting arch-rival ChatGPT.
Google's Google One "AI Lite" plan could fit below the current Google AI Pro plan.
Currently, free users get to use Deep Research mode only 'a few times a month,' and gain only limited access to Google's top-tier Gemini 2.5 Pro model.
Google One AI Pro subscribers, on the other hand, receive significantly higher usage limits and expanded capabilities, including Gemini models with larger context windows that can handle more data in one go.
This move could also help retain many Google One AI Pro customers who are about to reach the end of complimentary 12-month subscriptions bundled with devices such as a Pixel 9 Pro or a Chromebook Plus.
As an unannounced feature, pricing and feature details are currently unknown. It's also possible that Google could cut back on other, non-AI, features — for example, offering less than the 2TB of Google One storage currently bundled with Google One AI Pro.
The move would echo Google's budget-friendly 'Google One Lite' subscription tier, launched last year, which provides low-cost Google One subscriptions on a country-by-country basis, first in India and later expanding to Brazil, Mexico and Indonesia. Google One Lite offers just 30GB of cloud storage, compared to 100GB for Google One Basic, but at a price less than half that of Google One Basic.
It's possible, therefore, that any new Google One AI Lite plan could also launch in selected regions only — assuming it launches at all.
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