Google Introduces New Low-Cost AI Plan, Takes Direct Shot At OpenAI

If you’ve been on the fence about paying $20/month or more for a paid AI subscription, Google just made the decision a whole lot easier and affordable. The tech giant has officially launched Google AI Plus across 35 new countries and territories (including the U.S.), and it’s priced in a way that’s clearly designed to shake up the affordable AI market.

Google is pitching AI Plus as a serious entry point for anyone who wants access to powerful AI tools without breaking the bank, and at $7.99 a month, it’s matched the price of OpenAI’s new ChatGPT Go plan. The race for your wallet is officially on.

What Exactly Is Google AI Plus, and What Do You Get?

At its core, Google is positioning AI Plus as the sweet spot between a free Google account and its more premium AI tiers. The plan opens up access to powerful AI models and tools “to level up your productivity and creativity, all at an accessible price,” including Gemini 3 Pro and the Nano Banana Pro image generation tool right inside the Gemini app, plus video creation capability through Veo 3.1 Fast.

But that’s not all. AI Plus subscribers also unlock deeper access to Google’s AI filmmaking tool Flow, research and writing assistance through NotebookLM, including Audio Overviews, and a healthy 200 monthly AI credits split across Flow and Whisk, the image-to-video creation tool.

For context, the free tier only gives you 100 credits, so you’re doubling your output right out of the gate.

The Price Breakdown: How the Google AI Tiers Stack Up

Here’s where it gets interesting for anyone trying to figure out where to land in Google’s ecosystem. AI Plus sits neatly in the middle of three tiers:

• Free — 15GB storage, 100 AI credits, basic Gemini access
• AI Plus ($7.99/mo) — 200GB storage, 200 AI credits, Gemini 3 Pro, Nano Banana Pro, Flow, NotebookLM
• AI Pro ($19.99/mo) — 2TB storage, 1,000 AI credits, full access to all tools
• AI Ultra ($250/mo) — The heavy-hitter tier for power users and professionals

The Family Sharing Play: A Genuine Advantage

One detail that deserves a closer look is the family sharing component. Google AI Plus lets you share all of its benefits with up to five other family members under a single subscription. That means 6 people can tap into Gemini 3 Pro, the AI credits, the 200GB of storage, and everything else for a combined cost of roughly $1.33 per person a month. For anyone with a household full of tech users, that’s a hard value proposition to argue with.

Google AI Plus vs. ChatGPT Go: The Real Battle

It’s pretty clear that Google’s decision to launch Google AI Plus at $7.99 is in direct response to OpenAI’s move to make ChatGPT Go available globally at $8 a month. The two plans are priced almost identically, and both are designed to serve the same purpose, to convince everyday users that paying a little for AI is worth it.

ChatGPT Go gives you expanded access to GPT-5.2 Instant, with higher message limits, more image generation, and longer memory than the free tier. It’s a solid entry-level option. But there are a few notable trade-offs, like the fact that you’ll still see ads in the Go tier. ChatGPT Go also completely excludes Sora 2 video generation and the advanced “Thinking” reasoning models, which are locked behind the $20 Plus plan.

Google AI Plus, on the other hand, bundles in their video creation tools (Veo 3.1 Fast), AI filmmaking capability through Flow, and 200GB of storage, with no mention of ads. It also comes with the family sharing option, which ChatGPT Go does not offer.

A Limited-Time Deal Worth Acting On

Google is also offering a sweetener for new subscribers. For a limited time, you can get 50% off for the first two months of your AI Plus subscription, bringing the initial cost down to roughly $4 a month to start. That’s a low-risk way to test out what Google’s mid-tier AI ecosystem actually looks like in practice before committing long term.

The Bottom Line

Both Google and OpenAI are making their moves at the same time, and for good reason. As Google framed it, these launches represent “the opening salvo in the battle to persuade users that AI services are worth paying for — in the hope that users will increase their subscriptions over time as they become more exposed to the benefits of the technology.”

In plain terms: the cheap plans are the foot in the door. The real money comes later. But for now, if you’re looking to dip your toes into paid AI without a major commitment, Google AI Plus is one of the more compelling options on the market. The tools are versatile, the price is right, and the family sharing gives it a practical edge that’s hard to beat at this price point.