Who's paying for AI, a show of hands please

[VidJunky]

Recently I was trying to use Assistant for some pretty basic stuff that I've asked it to do in the past and guess what, it couldn't do it. I tried so many ways and nothing. I assumed it was broken to push us to Gemini AI. After giving up, I went to enable Gemini and noticed a subscription tab in the Gemini settings and Oh My Goodness, they have to be kidding, that or they think we're made of money. The basic subscription was 19.99 a month. When they said it was free for x amount of time I pictured $20 dollars for the year or maybe a few bucks a month for a subscription but no, $20 monthly. Oh and that isn't the heart stopper. No, $124.99 per month interdictory for 3 months and then $249.99 PER MONTH after that. Say what? For what? That's more than most people's whole cell phone bill and doesn't give you anything but AI features. Not cell service, not internet to access the AI, no just the AI. Who do they think we are? I

I could maybe see numbers like that for some large Corp. but for everyday bums like many of us, I can't even imagine.

I said last year that I was going to avoid many of these features so I wouldn't be hooked when pricing came out but I never would have believed it would be like this. And then the swing between the two, $230 difference from basic to ultra. I keep wanting to say for that price it better, well you know and even then it would still be a rip off.

 

[Laura Knotek]

That's a complete ripoff. I doubt many regular customers will pay for it.

 

[notforhire]

bold strategy on Google's part, I'll say

 

[Bkdodger1]

I'm one that I'm definitely not going to pay for AI subscription, I do use ChatGPT and Gemini but only basic

 

[me just saying]

nope, not me. I see no need for anything beyond the free version.

 

[mustang7757]

I agree with you Vid junky and the rest .

 

[B. Diddy]

Oh wait, that's why I'm NOT paying for AI.

 

[tube517]

I got the one year for free as a Pixel owner but after that I am not paying for it. Nope.

 

[kirk781]

Bold of Google to assume people will pay. Here in India, Perplexity is bundling it's exceptionally expensive services[atleast on paper] with low end cellphone subscriptions/recharges (with the operator Airtel). I assume they are banking on two things. First, they want to cover more market area and get more people hooked to their product, even if it's at the cost of taking a loss. Second, I really doubt it's a loss in the long term because all the AI models are heck bent on invading your privacy with a cloud first approach.

 

[wakukuzain]

I have been subscribed to the GPT Plus version for a year. For my daily work, using AI for processing is acceptable. Even I have purchased many AI products, although they might not be truly AI, but the benefits I have received seem to outweigh the drawbacks. For example, my smart glasses can perform automatic translation and other tasks. My BrushO toothbrush can analyze my brushing habits through AI and provide suggestions, and other products as well. Of course, I have also had some disappointments. After all, many AI products are relatively expensive, so it's necessary to make careful choices.

 

[VidJunky]

@wakukuzain Welcome to Android Central forums.

I'm all for the tech buy-in when it comes to some things but when you mentioned the toothbrush, that just seems unnecessary. I can't even imagine the feedback, on average you brush 5 more strokes on the right side than the left to keep your mouth in balance get those extra strokes in on the left. I kid, somewhat.

Just curious, because it's absolutely wild to me that any of this costs additional money, but if you wouldn't mind saying what field you're in or maybe just how you're using AI?

While your company may be paying preemptively for something that may cost down the road, is the paid version that much better than what everyone is getting for free?