Google Workspace business users getting full Gemini experience, price increasing

Previously, Google charged an additional $20+ per user/month for Gemini in Gmail, Docs, Meet, and other Workspace apps. The full Gemini experience is now coming to Google Workspace business users as part of a price increase.

In the past, Workspace users only got access to the Gemini app as part of their productivity subscription. To access the Gemini side panel in Gmail and Drive, companies had to pay $20 or $30 per user/month for Gemini Business or Gemini Enterprise, respectively. 

That separate Gemini Add-on is now going away. Google is adding the integrated Gemini experience to Workspace Business and Enterprise plans. 

*pooled storage per user

Google is making this change because it sees AI as a “foundational shift in how work gets done” and that future productivity advancements will be born out of it. As such, it doesn’t make sense to silo off AI into a different tier. Meanwhile, Google is undercutting competition that has this per user per month model. 

Workspace Business (Standard and Plus) and Enterprise users will get Gemini in:

• Gmail: Side panel (Q&A), Help me write, Contextual Smart Reply, Summarize
• Drive: Side panel 
• Docs: Side panel, Help me write, Help me create 
• Sheets: Side panel, Help me organize, Enhanced Smart Fill 
• Slides: Side panel, Help me create an image, remove background
• Meet: Takes notes for me, Create background, Studio Look/Sound
• Chat: Side panel

You also get access to Google Vids and NotebookLM Plus with team sharing. Meanwhile, users are bumped up to Gemini Advanced with 1.5 Pro and access to creating custom Gems. 

The entry Workspace Business Starter, which offers 30GB (instead of 2 TB) of storage, will get access to the Gemini side panel in Gmail, non-Advanced Gemini, and non-Plus NotebookLM. 

In terms of security and privacy, Google won’t “use your data, prompts, or generated responses to train Gemini models outside of your domain without permission.”

With the addition of Gemini, all Google Workspace tiers are getting a price increase. In general, Google tells us that plans will increase by a couple of dollars per month. The pricing example Google provided at launch is as follows:

For example, a customer using the Workspace Business Standard plan with a Gemini Business add-on previously paid $32 per user, per month. Now, that same customer will pay just $14 per user, per month — only $2 more than they were paying for Workspace without Gemini.

We have to see what other plans will look like, but the $2 increase in the scenario above seems compelling for what you’re getting. This new pricing will come into effect as follows:

• New customers: Today
• “For existing customers, monthly subscription pricing will be updated starting March 17, 2025, or at renewal date with an Annual/Fixed-term plan, whichever is later.”
• “Very small business customers are not subject to pricing changes at this time.” They will be getting access to the new Gemini features at the same time.

Notably, this full access to Gemini is rolling out starting today to Workspace customers before the price increase. 

Workspace Business customers can expect the Gemini side panel, Help me write, Take notes for me, Gemini Advanced and NotebookLM Plus as soon as it’s rolled out to their accounts, with Google targeting full availability over the coming days. The rollout for Workspace Enterprise begins at the end of the month to give admins time to adjust settings as needed. 

Meanwhile, Google is getting rid of the Gemini Business, Gemini Enterprise, AI Meetings and Messaging, and AI Security Add-ons. As of today, there are no changes to Workspace Individual, Education, Google Workspace for Nonprofit, or consumer accounts.