Google is changing its model: it will start charging for the use of its artificial intelligence search engine

Google is considering create a premium subscription for your search engine with the goal of creating a new way to generate income. He Financial Timeswhich cites people familiar with the matter details what the company might pay for the artificial intelligence-powered features it plans to include in its search engine.

If Google’s plans finally come to fruition, it will be the first time the company has put up a paywall for one of its core services. Until now, Google’s search engine has been free for everyone.and the main source of income is based on the advertisements that the company displays in different sections when the search engine returns results.

Google, yes will retain the free option with advertising for any userbut those who want more advanced search or simply use the search engine’s generative AI features will have to pay a monthly subscription, the price of which is currently unknown.

In fact, Google hinted in its statement Reuters about this, those who choose the premium plan They will also see ads in search results. “We do not work and do not consider the possibility of search without advertising. As we have done many times before, we will continue to develop new features and premium services to enhance our Google subscription offerings,” they say.

Google is already integrating payment AI into some of its services

This measure represents a significant disadvantage compared to Bing, Microsoft’s search engine, which integrates OpenAI AI for free. However, it is pertinent to note that in the case of Google search engine, the number of users is much higher.

In addition, the Mountain View firm already integrates some paid AI features in some of its services. Only users with a Google One AI Premium plan can access Gemini Advance, a more powerful version of the language model that also allows integration with some of its services. One of them is Gmail, through which artificial intelligence helps the user compose emails or create drafts.

In addition, Google AI Premium allows you to use artificial intelligence in the Google office suite to write text in Docs or create images in Slides. Google One AI Premium costs 21.99 euros per month; the cost is similar to what OpenAI offers for ChatGPT Plus. It’s unclear whether the premium AI features that Google plans to make its paid search engine will be included in this service or whether it will become a separate service.