Google Workspace Plans See Price Hike as Gemini AI Expands to All Tiers

Google announced on Wednesday that Gemini AI will be available to all Google Workspace Business or Enterprise users, integrating directly into the productivity suite. While all Gemini features will be offered at no additional cost initially, Workspace plan prices will rise to account for the expanded offering.

“By removing the need to pay for an add-on to access our latest generative AI capabilities, we’re simplifying our plans and pricing to bring the added value of Google AI to all Workspace customers,” Google President of Cloud Applications Jerry Dischler wrote in the product announcement.

The AI features will roll out gradually between January and March.

The cost of the AI will now be spread across plans

Before Google decided to include Gemini in all Workspace plans, a Gemini subscription cost $20 per month per user for a Business plan or $30 per month per user for an Enterprise plan. The changes to the basic plans are:

• Business Starter, offering the smallest pool of storage and fewest features, rose from $6 per user per month to $7 per user per month.
• Business Standard, allowing 150 people in Google Meet and adding tools like eSignature, increased from $12 per user per month to $14 per user per month.
• Business Plus, offering enhanced security and management tools, grew in price from $18 per user per month to $22 per user per month.

New customers will be charged the updated pricing starting on Jan. 16, while existing customers will see it go into effect on March 17 or at their next annual or fixed-term renewal date. Businesses already paying for the Google Gemini add-on will no longer be charged for it after Jan. 31.

However, the pricing changes may not impact small businesses with 20 or fewer users as quickly. Google hasn’t specified when these businesses might be subject to the new pricing scheme.

Google’s decision to incorporate an AI fee into its professional Workspace plans signals that AI is now an essential, fully integrated component of its professional applications. By building the cost into the overall plan, the price increase may be less noticeable to customers. This gives Google Gemini a competitive advantage over standalone AI services that charge separately monthly.

SEE: Generative AI has been devastating for nearly half of companies’ plans for environmental responsibility, a January report found.

What does Google Gemini bring to Workspace?

The Gemini digital assistant brings standardized generative AI features, such as note-taking and summarization. It can analyze documents, edit videos, write code, or help search for information.

Gemini will sit within:

• Gmail.
• Google Chat.
• Google Meet.
• Google Docs.
• Google Sheets.
• Google Slides.
• Google Vids.
• Google Drive.
• Google NotebookLM.

Google’s Gems, AI “agents” made for specific tasks, will be available in all business plans. Gems can ideally take roles to perform as assistants on more specialized tasks.

Google reassures Workspace users that data shared with Gemini will not be used to train future AI models. Data sovereignty controls are in place automatically, Google said. Plus, Gemini is SOC 1/2/3, ISO 27001/17/18, and ISO 42001 compliant, and can be incorporated into plans to comply with health privacy laws.