Students get free Google AI Pro with new Guided Learning mode in Gemini

Google has advanced its educational initiatives by introducing three AI-powered study aids within the Gemini app and offering a free year of the Google AI Pro plan to students in the United States, Japan, Indonesia, South Korea, and Brazil. Eligibility begins today for those 18 and older with verified student accounts, providing premium generative tools to millions of students at no initial cost.

The Guided Learning mode transforms Gemini into a step-by-step tutor, prompting students with probing questions and demonstrating its problem-solving process. This feature is built on the LearnLM-tuned Gemini 2.5 Pro model, which education researchers rated highest on pedagogical benchmarks compared to rival systems earlier this year.

The app integrates diagrams, photos, and short YouTube clips directly into answers and can generate flashcards or comprehensive study guides from class files, aiming to reduce the time spent on revision marathons before exams.

Google AI Pro, typically priced at US $20 per year, includes Gemini 2.5 Pro, Deep Research, 2 TB of Drive storage, NotebookLM, Veo 3 video generation, and increased limits for the Jules coding agent. Students who redeem the offer will retain these benefits through 2026, including access to the Deep Think reasoning engine, which recently excelled in LiveCodeBench V6 and achieved Olympiad-level math results.

This giveaway is part of a broader US $1 billion, three-year initiative to integrate AI training and software into higher education; over 100 universities have already joined the program. Google asserts that this effort will foster long-term enterprise adoption, aligning with similar initiatives by OpenAI, Microsoft, and Amazon, while also creating opportunities for research on AI ethics in educational settings.

The new tools are available today across the Gemini mobile and web apps, and Google indicates that Workspace for Education domains will receive equivalent features later this quarter, with regional expansion for Pro credits currently under consideration.

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