Google finally has a 20-dollar ‘premium and advanced’ answer to Copilot Pro and ChatGPT Plus
Google rebrands Bard to Gemini and debuts a paid subscription for the service dubbed Gemini Advanced to take on Microsoft’s Copilot Pro.
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What you need to know
Almost a year into its existence, Microsoft decided torebrand Bing Chat to Copilot at Ignite 2023. This strategic move paved the way for Copilot Pro’s recently announced paid subscription. The $20 service promises better image creation capabilities, enhanced performance with 100 daily boosts, and more.
And now, Google is seemingly borrowing a page from Microsoft’s playbook. The company just announcedrebranding Google Bard to Gemini, further adding that it represents its “most capable family of models.”
Besides changing Bard’s name, Google is unveiling a Copilot Pro-like service dubbed Gemini Advanced. For context, Gemini is based on the Gemini Pro LLM, which is quite powerful and efficient. However, it stacks miles behind the Gemini Ultra model, which powers Gemini Advanced.
RELATED:What’s the difference between Microsoft Copilot (free) and Microsoft Copilot free?
The Ultra 1.0 model lets Gemini Advanced handle complex tasks, including coding, logical reasoning, and more. What’s more, it can handle longer and more detailed conversations. It also can pick up important details from past conversations for context and continuation of new chats.
However, Gemini Advanced isn’t free. Like Copilot Pro, it’s a paid subscription for $19.99 per month. It’s worth noting that the subscription is part of Google’s new Google One AI Premium Plan.
Interestingly, the plan will also provide subscribers access to additional perks included in the existingGoogle One Premium Plan, including 2TB of storage and more. Google also indicated that AI Premium subscribers can leverage Gemini’s capabilities across its platforms, including Gmail, Docs, Slides, Sheets, and more. It’s like adding $10 to your Google One Premium Plan (currently costs $9.99/month) to gain access to Gemini Advanced.
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Users interested in trying Gemini Advanced can take advantage of thetwo-month free trialbefore committing. It’s available in English across 150 countries and territories, with plans to expand it to more languages. Google also plans to bring more multimodal capabilities, interactive coding features, and deeper data analysis capabilities to Gemini Advanced soon.
Gemini Advanced has one up on ChatGPT Plus and Copliot Pro
Like Microsoft and Google,OpenAI’s ChatGPThas a paid version, too. The company has buried most of its essential features underChatGPT Plus. Ironically, Microsoft is providing some of these features for free on Copilot’s free version, includingDALL-E 3 image generation technologyandOpenAI’s GPT-4 model.
While this is tactical, and the presumption would be that most users would flock to Copilot, this isn’t the case. A research survey by Appfigures reveals thatChatGPT continues to dominate the mobile market share. This is despite Microsoft launchingthe Copilot app for Android and iOS. The speculations attribute Copliot’s slow adoption to Microsoft’s “poor promotion” practices, making it challenging to dent ChatGPT’s revenue and installs.
Some of these paid subscription services arenegatively impacted by performance issuesdespite promised ‘priority access’ during peak times. In my opinion, Google has positioned itself to win with Gemini Advanced by offering it to users as a packaged deal. Besides getting the AI-powered chatbot, you also get access to many perks (who doesn’t pay for extra storage anyway).
Additionally, this packaged deal could help Google grow its subscribers for its Premium Plan services. It’s a win-win situation.
Copilot Pro |$20 at Microsoft Store
Copilot Pro builds off the free version and has better performance and priority access during peak times and more image creator boosts that let you create more AI-generated images in a single day. Copilot Pro also enables AI features in Office apps, something the free version doesn’t have.
Kevin Okemwa is a seasoned tech journalist based in Nairobi, Kenya with lots of experience covering the latest trends and developments in the industry at Windows Central. With a passion for innovation and a keen eye for detail, he has written for leading publications such as OnMSFT, MakeUseOf, and Windows Report, providing insightful analysis and breaking news on everything revolving around the Microsoft ecosystem. You’ll also catch him occasionally contributing at iMore about Apple and AI. While AFK and not busy following the ever-emerging trends in tech, you can find him exploring the world or listening to music.
