Google launches “Gemini Business” AI, adds $20 to the $6 Workspace bill

Enlarge (credit: Google)

Google went ahead with plans to launch Gemini for Workspace today. The big news is the pricing information, and you can see the Workspace pricing page is new, with every plan offering a "Gemini add-on." Google's old AI-for-Business plan, "Duet AI for Google Workspace," is dead, though it never really launched anyway.

Google has a blog post explaining the changes. Google Workspace starts at $6 per user per month for the "Starter" package, and the AI "Add-on," as Google is calling it, is an extra $20 monthly cost per user (all of these prices require an annual commitment). That is a massive price increase over the normal Workspace bill, but AI processing is expensive. Google says this business package will get you "Help me write in Docs and Gmail, Enhanced Smart Fill in Sheets and image generation in Slides." It also includes the "1.0 Ultra" model for the Gemini chatbot—there's a full feature list here. This $20 plan is subject to a usage limit for Gemini AI features of "1,000 times per month."

The new Workspace pricing page, with a "Gemini Add-On" for every plan. (credit: Google)

Gemini for Google Workspace represents a total rebrand of the AI business product and some amount of consistency across Google's hard-to-follow, constantly changing AI branding. Duet AI never really launched to the general public. The product, announced in August, only ever had a "Try" link that led to a survey, and after filling it out, Google would presumably contact some businesses and allow them to pay for Duet AI. Gemini Business now has a checkout page, and any Workspace business customer can buy the product today with just a few clicks.