WATCH THE VIDEO HERE Google has introduced a new artificial intelligence subscription service named “Google AI Ultra,” offering exclusive access to its latest AI tools and premium features. The service sits above the existing AI Pro plan, costs N359,000/month or N179,000/month for the first three months in Nigeria and while the Google AI Pro subscription is currently priced at N28,500/month after a free trial. Josh Woodward, Head of Google Labs and the Gemini app, said the plan is designed for early adopters of cutting-edge technology. “It’s for the trailblazers, the pioneers, those of you who want cutting-edge AI from Google.” “You can think of this Ultra plan as your VIP pass for Google AI,” he said The plan grants users access to the following features: The AI Ultra subscription is currently available in the United States and is expected to roll out to other countries, including Nigeria, in the coming months. The launch is a strategic response to growing competition in the AI space, placing it in direct competition with OpenAI’s ChatGPT Pro. Google AI Ultra’s pricing at $249.99 per month places it at the high end of the AI subscription market, significantly more expensive than most other AI subscriptions, which generally cost around $20 to $25 per month, except for OpenAI’s ChatGPT Pro at $200. Anthropic offers Claude Pro at $20/month, targeting users who need higher usage limits and early access to updates. Microsoft’s Copilot Pro, priced at $21/month, integrates AI into Office tools like Word and Excel, appealing to productivity-focused users. Perplexity Pro also charges $20/month for access to top models like GPT-4o and Claude 3.7 Sonnet, offering strong research and file analysis capabilities. Meanwhile, DeepSeek adopts a pay-as-you-go API model, pricing usage by token count, and appeals to developers seeking cost-effective alternatives. Despite its strong feature set, the high monthly cost may limit AI Ultra’s appeal to only the most dedicated users, especially as more affordable or free AI tools continue to be available.