Google gives college students a free year of AI plans as Gemini and Search add study tools

Eligible US college students can claim Google AI Pro for 12 months at no cost, while students in more than 140 markets outside the US can access a free year of Google AI Plus alongside new Gemini and Search learning features

Google's Gemini student hub brings together study notebooks, quizzes, flashcards and access to student AI plan offers

Google is offering eligible college students a year of its paid AI plans at no cost as it expands study tools across Gemini and Google Search, including diagnostic quizzes, AI-generated learning plans, interactive visuals, notebooks and step-by-step support through Lens.

The offer splits by market. Eligible college students in the US can receive Google AI Pro free for 12 months, a plan Google values at $19.99 per month. Eligible students outside the US can receive a year of Google AI Plus in more than 140 markets where the plan is available, subject to exclusions.

Both offers must be redeemed by December 31, 2026. A valid payment method is required at sign-up, and the plans automatically move to paid subscriptions unless canceled. Google AI Pro will charge $19.99 per month after the free period in the US, while Google AI Plus will charge $4.99 per month or the local currency equivalent after its trial.

The student offer sits alongside a wider attempt to pull more of the study process into Google's AI products. Gemini is adding a dedicated student hub, expanded study notebooks, interactive visualizations and Deep Research inside Gemini Live, while Search is gaining custom practice quizzes, AI-generated visuals, notebooks, file creation and a new Lens learning experience.

Nick Fox, Google's SVP of Knowledge & Information, said on LinkedIn that the company was trying to draw a line between AI assistance and simply handing students answers.

“As a parent and a product builder, one of the areas that I think is most important to get right is how we create AI products to help students learn,” he wrote. “It’s essential that we build our products in a way that steers students toward true subject matter understanding and skill development rather than cheating or shortcuts.”

Google puts a student hub around Gemini

The new Gemini student hub gives signed-in users a central place to create study notebooks, flashcards and quizzes and access other learning tools.

Google says study notebooks can use a student's uploaded course materials, including lecture notes, to identify what needs to be learned and build a study plan around it. Students can take diagnostic quizzes intended to surface gaps in knowledge, after which Gemini can generate shorter lessons and further quizzes and display progress through a dashboard.

The feature itself was introduced in June, but Google is expanding it. In the coming weeks, study notebooks are due to add graphs and images to lessons and, with a student's permission, extract dates such as exams and assignment deadlines from a syllabus and schedule them in Google Calendar.

The company is also bringing Deep Research into Gemini Live. Students can start a multi-step research task through the conversational interface, leave it running in the background, and receive a notification when the output is ready. They can then discuss the findings with Gemini, ask follow-up questions or refine the research.

Interactive visualizations are also being positioned as a study tool. Google says Gemini can generate functional 3D simulations and other visual elements tailored to a query, including tables, grids and interactive models.

The student hub, study notebooks, interactive visualizations and Deep Research in Gemini Live are rolling out globally to Gemini app users. The hub and study notebooks are available on mobile and web to signed-in consumer accounts in Gemini app languages, with rollout to eligible school-issued accounts and users meeting minimum age requirements due in the coming weeks.

Search moves further into direct study support

Google Search is getting its own set of AI learning tools, some of which overlap with the Gemini experience.

Practice quizzes are now globally available in English, free of charge, through AI Overviews and AI Mode. Students can request quizzes across subjects including science, math, humanities and foreign languages, as well as for standardized tests including the ACT, AP, ENEM, GRE, JEE, LSAT, MCAT, NEET and SAT.

For test preparation, Google says quiz content draws on material from The Princeton Review, Careers360, PhysicsWallah and Akira Enem. The quizzes include explanations for answers and links to additional material.

Search can also generate interactive tools and simulations. Google's example uses the pH scale: a search can return an interactive visual in an AI Overview, while a more specific follow-up in AI Mode can generate a customized version around a particular question.

Generative UI capabilities are available globally in English in AI Mode and have begun rolling out in AI Overviews.

Lens will take a different route. In the coming weeks, students will be able to photograph work using the Lens camera in the Google app and receive an AI Overview intended to explain the problem, identify where a mistake may have been made and coach them through it. Follow-up questions can continue in AI Mode. Google says the experience will roll out globally in English.

Fox described the Search rollout on LinkedIn as including “Interactive visuals to make concepts click,” “Custom practice quizzes to prep for exams” and “Step-by-step learning with Lens.”

Notebooks and course materials spread across Google products

Google is also extending Gemini Notebook, formerly NotebookLM, into AI Mode in Search.

Students can create notebooks for classes or projects and add sources including slides, syllabi, web articles and previous AI Mode threads. Existing notebooks from Gemini Notebook or the Gemini app will appear in Search, with sources and instructions synchronized across the products.

The Search version is rolling out over the coming days in English across more than 180 countries, with local-language support due in the following weeks.

Search can additionally turn uploaded materials into study files. A student could, for example, upload a photograph of handwritten notes alongside lecture slides and ask for a one-page document summarizing key concepts.

Custom file creation is already available globally in English in AI Mode and is due to reach AI Overviews. Initially, Google says it can produce documents, presentations, spreadsheets and text files across a range of formats.

The free student subscriptions come with their own conditions. US students must verify eligibility and redeem Google AI Pro by December 31, while the Google AI Plus offer is available in eligible markets outside the US except Bolivia, Albania, Canada, Macau, Hong Kong and Tunisia. A valid payment method is required for both offers.

Google is separately offering some students a discounted bundle combining Google AI Pro and YouTube Premium. In the US, the combined price is $8.99 compared with $35.98 per month for the two subscriptions separately. The offer is available in select markets, requires student verification, is for individual use and is not available on school-issued accounts.