Your Google subscription has just lost most of its value

We’ve seen Google push many of its AI features behind paid subscriptions over the past couple of years, and there are already a few Google features stuck behind a paywall on Android phones that you can only use if you pay for one of its Google AI plans. However, Google is now discounting certain elements of these subscriptions, and those who pay for its cheapest plan, Google AI Plus, are the ones who lose the most. The company has changed which Gemini models each plan can use, and if you pay for Plus, you’ll soon lose access to the Gemini Pro model.

Instead, AI Plus subscribers will be limited to Google’s lower-tier Flash and Flash-Lite models, while the Pro model will only be available to those who pay for AI Pro or AI Ultra. Free users also lose some access, as Gemini will now default to an Auto setting that sends most prompts to Flash-Lite. The system can still detect when it needs another model, but free users will have no control over when it’s themselves.

These changes began rolling out to free users on October 9, and Google says AI Plus subscribers should receive an email letting them know when the change will affect their account. AI Plus only costs $4.99 per month, so it’s always been positioned as more limited than Google’s other plan options. Still, losing all access to the Pro models is a pretty big change that has some people wondering what the point is in purchasing AI subscriptions.

Google’s decision to remove Pro from AI Plus hasn’t gone down well with some subscribers, and users in the Gemini community on Reddit have been very frustrated since the news broke. In a thread on r/GeminiAI, one longtime Gemini user said he planned to upgrade to Claude and DeepSeek instead, while others pointed out that the only way to continue using Pro now is to upgrade to a more expensive plan. Others even said that access to Gemini Pro was the only thing that made AI Plus worth it for them.

Some users who purchased a full year of AI Plus have been particularly annoyed, even going so far as to call the one-year plans a scam. While others have pointed out that Flash is generally sufficient for most things, that doesn’t soften the blow for everyone. We’re still talking about people who put their money on the line to access a subscription that has now effectively become nerfed so they can’t even access Pro. Meanwhile, Free will continue to be able to access Pro, but only when Gemini deems it necessary.

Determining whether AI Plus is still worth it is another question entirely. AI Plus still offers some value, especially if you use it primarily for storage. However, it’s worth keeping in mind that Google reduced the price of AI Plus from $7.99 to $4.99 in June, while also doubling the included storage to 400GB. AI Plus also includes twice the usage limits of the free tier, so it may still be useful if you use Gemini a lot for basic daily tasks.

But if you signed up specifically for lower-cost Pro Access, the plan likely won’t be worth the same value anymore, even if you use the included Google Drive storage it offers. Still, it’s worth considering all the benefits of your Google One subscription, especially the ones you don’t always think about. And then, if you still want to cancel, just make sure you’ve emptied any extra storage that might not fit into Drive’s default space.