- Google One subscriptions have grown from 100 million to 150 million in just 15 months.
- The company’s been selling “millions” of subscriptions to its AI Premium tier.
- We expect Google One to soon add even more subscription options.
Is there any tech company out there that gives you more, without demanding that you pay a dime, than Google? Sure, the company’s an ad giant, and we’ve all heard the argument that if we’re not the ones paying to use a service, then it’s us who are actually the product (being sold as an audience to advertisers). But if you’re cool with that, then Google’s got an absolute ton to offer for free. But like any profit-driven company, if there’s an opportunity to convert some of those free users to paying subscribers, Google’s absolutely going to want to take advantage of it. Now a new report shines some light on just how successful that effort has been.
Right now, Google is all about the upsell. You can watch YouTube with all its ads, or pay for Premium. But with stuff like Gmail, Drive, and Docs, Google’s premium offerings are all bundled together under the banner of Google One. Ostensibly a way to upgrade your cloud storage, we’ve seen One evolve over the years to include bonuses like dark web monitoring, Magic Editor access, or a VPN — at least, for a time. Most recently, Google’s big carrot for One has been AI Premium, offering early and expanded access to its latest and greatest Gemini functionality.