“Many companies still use the free version of Google Workspace to access collaborative features that their current applications do not support,” said Kurtzman. “The inclusion of AI and a price point much lower than many competitors should result in additional paid users to Google Workspace.”
Google’s move will clearly put pressure on Microsoft — which charges $30 per user a month for its M365 Copilot add-on — to follow suit, as well as other productivity software vendors that charge an extra fee for access to genAI capabilities. (Zoom is a notable exception, having included its AI Companion in its apps at no extra cost since launch.)
As the cost of running large language models (LLMs) drops, this is a natural direction of travel: Gartneranalysts have said they expect genAI features to be included at no extra cost in office software subscriptions by 2028, according to a recent report (subscription required), as vendors seek broader adoption of their tools.
