Who Is Giving Away AI Subscriptions Right Now (and Which Deals Are Already Dead)
Yesterday, while the internet argued about whether OpenAI will list in 2027, Google quietly did something that matters more to an actual household budget: it started handing US college students a free year of its $19.99-a-month AI plan.
That is not a trial. That is twelve months, at zero, of the plan Google sells as AI Pro.
And it is not the only one. Right now, in the United States, three different industries are paying for your AI subscription and mostly failing to tell you: your phone carrier, your software bundle, and your school.
Jump to what you need
The one that just opened: a free year for students
Google announced the offer this week. Eligible college students in the US get Google AI Pro free for twelve months: four times higher usage limits in Gemini, Gemini inside Gmail and Docs, 5 TB of storage, and Google Health Premium. Students outside the US, in more than 140 markets, get the cheaper AI Plus tier instead.
You claim it at gemini.google.com/students, verify enrollment through SheerID, and you have until December 31, 2026 to redeem.
Claim it
Twelve months of a $19.99 plan, for eligible US college students. Verification takes a few minutes.
The one hiding in your phone bill
If you are on Verizon, the same Google AI Pro subscription is available as a plan perk for $10 a month — half the retail price. Verizon’s own support page lists what comes with it: upgraded Gemini, NotebookLM, AI in the Google apps, YouTube with fewer ads, Google Home Premium, and 5 TB of cloud storage.
The detail most write-ups skip: it can be shared with up to five people in a family group. A household splitting one perk is paying about $1.67 per person per month for a $19.99 product.
Eligibility runs across Unlimited Ultimate, Plus and Welcome, the Simplicity plan, 5G and LTE Home, and Fios internet — one perk per line, one per Fios account.
Check eligibility
Verizon lists the qualifying plans and everything the perk includes on its own support page.
Now the part nobody writes: the ones that are dead
Search for free AI subscriptions today and you will be told to grab a free year of Perplexity Pro from PayPal or Venmo. It was real. It is over.
| Offer you will be told to claim | Reality, Aug. 20, 2026 |
|---|---|
| PayPal / Venmo → free year of Perplexity Pro | Expired. Announced Sept. 2025, window closed Dec. 31, 2025. |
| T-Mobile → free year of Perplexity Pro | Wrong continent. It runs through Deutsche Telekom’s Magenta Moments program in Europe. No verified US equivalent. |
| Copilot Pro for $20/mo | Retired. Discontinued late 2025; support for existing subscribers ended Aug. 1, 2026. Copilot now ships inside Microsoft 365. |
This is the whole reason we built a page for this instead of a listicle. A deal page that never marks anything expired is not a deal page; it is a museum with the lights left on.
The streaming version of the same trick
The carriers discounting AI discount television by the identical mechanism. On Verizon’s myPlan, the streaming perks sit at $10 a month each: the Disney Bundle with ads, a Netflix and HBO Max bundle with ads, YouTube Premium, Apple TV+ and others — each priced under what the same service costs bought directly.
How to check what you already own, in five minutes
- Carrier app. Look for anything labelled Google AI, Gemini, or a streaming bundle. That is where a $19.99 subscription becomes $10.
- one.google.com. If your storage is above 100 GB, you may already hold an AI plan you have never opened.
- Microsoft account. If you pay for Microsoft 365 Personal or Family, Copilot is already included. A separate assistant subscription may be redundant.
- School email. The Google student year is free, and many universities run institutional licences on top of it.
- Bank and card portals. This is where the 2025 payment-app offers appeared, and where the next wave will.
The running list
We keep every verified US offer on one page, with the date checked and the expired ones left on purpose.
What to do with this
1. If anyone in your household is a college student, claim the Google year at gemini.google.com/students — then set the cancel reminder immediately.
2. Open your carrier app and read the perks list. Note anything you are paying for twice.
3. Check one.google.com and your Microsoft account for AI plans you already own.
4. Put one calendar entry per free trial, two days before each renewal date.
If you want to go deeper
Why are they giving it away? Because the cost of switching assistants is nearly zero, so whoever holds the habit holds the customer. Free years are not generosity; they are the cheapest possible customer acquisition.
Which plan is worth paying for once the free year ends? That depends on what you actually do with it, and we keep the list prices current on the AI price tracker.
Where do we track the offers themselves? On the new AI Perks & Deals page, with the date each one was verified and the expired ones left visible on purpose.
Frequently asked questions
Is Google AI Pro really free for students?
Yes, for eligible college students in the United States: one year of Google AI Pro, a plan Google prices at $19.99 a month. You verify student status through SheerID, you must be 18 or older, and you have to redeem it by December 31, 2026. A payment method is required at sign-up and the plan renews at full price automatically when the year ends.
How do I get Google AI Pro cheaper if I am not a student?
The clearest current route in the US is a carrier perk. Verizon sells Google AI Pro as a $10 per month add-on to eligible myPlan mobile and myHome internet plans, against a $19.99 retail price, and the subscription can be shared with up to five people in a family group.
Can I still get a free year of Perplexity Pro from PayPal or Venmo?
No. That promotion was real, announced in September 2025 for PayPal and Venmo users, but the offer window closed on December 31, 2025. Guides still recommending it are recycling an old page.
Does T-Mobile give free Perplexity Pro in the US?
Not that we can verify. The free year of Perplexity Pro runs through Deutsche Telekom’s Magenta Moments loyalty program in European markets such as Poland, Germany and Czechia. We found no equivalent offer for US T-Mobile customers.
Is Copilot Pro still $20 a month?
No. Microsoft retired the standalone consumer Copilot Pro in late 2025 and support for existing subscribers ended on August 1, 2026. Copilot is now bundled into Microsoft 365 Personal and Family, and the higher-end features moved into Microsoft 365 Premium.
Are these AI deals worth switching carriers for?
Almost never. A $10 monthly saving is small next to the price difference between phone plans, and perks are changed or withdrawn at will. The right use of this information is to claim what your current plan already includes, not to rebuild your life around a discount.
What is the catch with free AI subscriptions?
All of them take a payment method up front and roll into full price when the free period ends. Set a calendar reminder two days before the renewal date. That single habit is worth more than any of the discounts on this page.
Sources
- Google, official announcement of the student AI offer and its terms (Aug. 2026)
- Verizon Support, Google AI Pro perk FAQs and terms & conditions
- Verizon myPlan perks pages for streaming bundles
- PayPal newsroom, Perplexity Pro offer announcement (Sept. 3, 2025) and its stated expiry
- Deutsche Telekom / T-Mobile Magenta Moments materials, European markets
- Microsoft consumer subscription documentation on Copilot bundling and Copilot Pro retirement
- All checked Aug. 20, 2026
We take no commission from any provider named here, and this is not financial advice. Offers change without notice; the verification date is printed so you know how fresh this is.
Keep reading
- AI Perks & Deals — the running list, with expired offers left on the page.
- The AI price tracker — what each tool costs at list price, re-verified monthly.
- ChatGPT ads, and how to turn them off — the other way the price of free is going up.
About the author
Prof. H is a professor of AI and robotics, a former Samsung researcher, and the author of dozens of textbooks on AI and automation. He writes hands-on, no-hype guides. More about the author →
