In a major move to outpace AI competitors, Google has announced that Gemini Advanced—its premium AI model—will be free for eligible college students in the US until Spring 2026. The offer is part of Google’s AI Premium plan and comes with added perks, including 2TB of Google Drive storage, NotebookLM Plus, and other advanced Gemini AI tools.
This promotional offer is clearly positioned to compete with OpenAI, which recently rolled out a two-month free access period to ChatGPT Plus for students. However, Google’s offer stands out by giving students an extended 15-month access window to claim and enjoy the benefits.
Who’s Eligible?
The offer is exclusive to US-based college students. To qualify, students must have an active .edu email address issued by a recognized US college or university. This email acts as verification to claim the offer. Students must sign up before June 30, after which the promotion expires.
What’s Included?
Students who claim the offer will enjoy:
- Gemini Advanced with Gemini 2.5 Pro for high-level AI assistance
- NotebookLM Plus – a tool for enhanced research and note-taking
- Whisk – for image and animation generation
- Veo 2 – a powerful video generation AI
- Gemini integration across Google Workspace apps
- 2TB cloud storage on their personal Google account
How to Claim the Offer
If a student is already subscribed to the Google One AI Premium plan (which normally costs $20/month), they will need to cancel their current subscription and wait for the billing cycle to end. Once canceled, they can sign up using their .edu email to activate the 15-month free access.
Upon successful activation, all benefits—including cloud storage and access to premium AI tools—will be linked to the user’s personal Google account and remain active until spring 2026.
Final Thoughts
Google’s generous move offers students powerful AI tools that can assist in research, creativity, and productivity, all without the premium price tag. Compared to OpenAI’s two-month offer, Google provides much longer value, though it is currently limited to students in the US.
If you’re a student with a .edu email, now’s the time to unlock Gemini Advanced free for students—and explore the full potential of Google’s AI ecosystem.
