Google is rolling out a wave of study tools across Search and Gemini for the new school year. It is also giving eligible college students a free year of its paid AI plan. The company set out the changes in a back-to-school post on Wednesday.

The headline offer is the free subscription. Eligible college students in the United States can get one year of Google AI Pro at no cost, according to Google. The plan usually costs $200 a year, or $20 a month, Engadget reporter Lawrence Bonk noted.

The plan bundles several products. Students get higher usage limits in Gemini. Engadget put the increase at four times the standard cap. They also get access to Google’s Spark agentic platform, and Gemini inside Workspace apps such as Gmail and Docs. The offer also includes 5TB of cloud storage. It adds a Google Health Premium subscription, which links to Fitbit and other health trackers.

The offer, and the catch

Students outside the United States get a different deal. Google is giving them a year of Google AI Plus, a cheaper plan that normally costs $5 a month. It comes with higher Gemini usage limits and 400GB of storage. It also carries bundled discounts on AI Pro and YouTube Premium.

There is one caveat, common to offers of this kind. The subscription auto-renews at the full price after a year, Engadget noted. Google is also selling a discounted bundle of AI Pro and YouTube Premium for $9 a month. That works out cheaper than many stand-alone music-streaming plans, Engadget noted.

The free year is widely read as a way to grow Gemini’s user base. Engadget called it a likely attempt to boost Gemini’s engagement numbers. Google said in July that Gemini had passed a billion monthly users. It is racing OpenAI for a share of the AI market.

A student hub in Gemini

The product changes centre on studying. Google is adding a dedicated student hub in the Gemini app, The Verge reporter Terrence O’Brien reported. It gathers Gemini’s learning tools in one place, from a study notebook to flashcards and practice quizzes. The hub lands as the back-to-school season begins, when students set up their tools for the term.

The study notebooks are also getting an upgrade. They will support graphs and images, according to The Verge. Gemini can add test dates and deadlines to a student’s Google Calendar based on their syllabus, the report said. Google describes the notebooks as personalised study plans, according to its back-to-school post. They use short diagnostic quizzes to spot gaps in a student’s knowledge, then break the material into bite-sized plans.

Google is bringing its Deep Research feature to Gemini Live, its voice-based mode. Students can ask Gemini to produce a detailed research report and then talk through the findings by voice, The Verge reported. If the report takes a while, they can close the chat and lock the phone. Gemini sends a notification when it is done.

A new tool for Lens is due in the coming weeks. In the Google app, a student will be able to photograph a worksheet, according to The Verge. Gemini can then explain a concept, help with a hard topic, or offer coaching after a mistake.

New study tools in Search

The changes also reach Google Search. Students can generate interactive visuals to understand tricky topics, TechCrunch reporter Aisha Malik reported. Searching “pH scale”, for example, returns an interactive visual in an AI Overview.

A follow-up question goes further. Asking to plot citrus fruits on the pH scale prompts a tailored experience, according to TechCrunch. That runs through AI Mode in Search. Students can also request custom practice quizzes on any subject, including standardised tests such as the SAT. Google offers full-length practice SAT tests in Gemini at no cost.

Gemini is gaining 3D simulations too. A prompt like “show me how DNA works in 3D” returns a structure a student can rotate and zoom, TechCrunch reported. Responses can now include tables, grids and simulations built for the prompt, rather than plain text alone.

Search can also turn a student’s files into study material. A user can upload a PDF, a set of slides or a photo of handwritten notes, and ask Search to produce a one-pager of the key concepts, TechCrunch said. A separate Lens tool in Search will walk students through problems step by step. It rolls out in the coming weeks, TechCrunch said.

Chasing the classroom

The launch is Google’s latest push to make Gemini the assistant students reach for. It competes with OpenAI, which has its own study features, TechCrunch reported. It also faces education startups such as Knowt and Gauth, which sell their own study and practice tools.

Google framed the tools as safe by design and rooted in learning science, with teachers kept in the lead. The offer post was written by Google’s Jennifer Shen, and the Search rundown by Awaneesh Verma. The company has been pushing Gemini across its products, and is retiring Google Assistant on phones.

For students, the pitch is a set of free tools and a year of a paid plan at the start of term. For Google, it is a chance to make Gemini a daily habit for a young audience, before a rival does. Whether the tools change how students study, or simply how many use Gemini, will show up in the usage figures that Google chooses to report next.

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