Google unveils Gemini Ultra, a new $249 monthly plan for access to ‘cutting-edge’ AI tools

Google unveils Gemini Ultra, a new $249 monthly plan for access to ‘cutting-edge’ AI tools

Google on May 20 introduced a new, more expensive subscription plan called Google AI Ultra, which offers early access to the company's experimental artificial intelligence (AI) products and features, as well as the highest level of access to its AI models and services.

This move is part of the tech giant’s efforts to monetise its AI offerings at a time when investors are closely watching how major technology companies are turning their tens of billions of dollars in AI investments into profits.

"The Google AI Ultra plan is almost like your VIP access to all of Google's AI....It's for people that want to be on the absolute cutting edge of AI from Google... It will have special features, the rate limits. We're also putting early access to products and features in there" Josh Woodward, VP, Google Labs & Gemini said at the company's annual developer conference Google I/O 2025.

The subscription plan will initially be available in the United States at a monthly fee of $249.99, with plans to roll it out to other countries soon.

Google AI Ultra subscribers will get access to the company's latest video generation model Veo 3, the upcoming Gemini 2.5 Pro Deep Think mode, and early access to Project Mariner, an agentic research prototype that explores the future of human-agent interaction.

At the event, Google previewed Agent Mode, a new experimental capability for desktops, that combines advanced features like live web browsing, in-depth research and smart integrations with the consumer's Google apps, enabling them to manage complex, multi-step tasks from start to finish with minimal oversight from the user.

Google's products like Gemini, NotebookLM, Flow, Whisk, and the Gemini integration in the company's apps like Gmail, Docs, and Vids among others will offer the highest rate limits to these subscribers. In addition, Google will offer 30 terabytes of storage and a YouTube Premium subscription.

Google rival OpenAI had also introduced a $200 monthly subscription plan, called ChatGPT Pro, in December 2024. The tier offers unlimited access to its AI models, extended availability to products like Deep Research and Sora, and early access to research prototypes like its AI agent Operator and the recently launched coding agent Codex.

The firm is also rebranding its existing AI tier, the Google One AI Premium Plan, as Google AI Pro, which is available to consumers for $19.99 per month. In India, the subscription is priced at Rs 1,950 per month

Google CEO Sundar Pichai has previously stated that subscriptions will be one of the primary avenues for monetising its AI offerings.

Google parent Alphabet surpassed 270 million paid subscriptions, with YouTube and Google One as key drivers, Pichai said during the firm's Q1 earnings conference call in April, without disclosing any additional information.

Earlier this month, Google stated that Google One has surpassed 150 million subscribers globally, marking a 50 percent increase since February 2024, when the service crossed the 100 million mark. The AI subscription tier, which launched that same month, has racked up millions of subscriptions, Google One head Shimrit Ben-Yair recently told Reuters.

Google One, along with YouTube, is a key driver of Alphabet's efforts to diversify its revenue beyond advertising

Google's revenues from its subscription, platforms, and device businesses increased by 19 percent to $10.4 billion in Q1 2025, primarily driven by its subscription revenues, CFO Anat Ashkenazi said during the earnings call. The company doesn't break out its subscriptions revenues.

"This growth was primarily driven by YouTube subscription offerings, followed by Google One, with growth and the number of subscribers being the biggest driver of revenue growth" Ashkenazi said.

Overall, Alphabet's revenues saw a 12 percent growth to $90.23 billion for the quarter. Net profit grew by 46 percent to $34.54 billion.

In February, Pichai announced that Alphabet plans to invest around $75 billion in capital expenditures in 2025 to boost its AI efforts.