Google has launched its new AI Plus subscription plan across 40 countries, opening access to advanced artificial intelligence tools in regions where high costs have previously slowed adoption.
Among the markets included are Nigeria, Angola, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Nepal, the Philippines, Senegal, Uganda, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe.
Priced at around $5 per month, the AI Plus plan offers a six-month 50% discount in select countries like Nepal and Mexico, making it one of the most affordable ways to access Gemini 2.5 Pro, Google’s multimodal AI model capable of generating images, videos, and text. The subscription also integrates AI features across Gmail, Docs, and Sheets, turning them into productivity hubs.
Subscribers additionally receive 200GB of cloud storage and access to Google’s AI research assistant, NotebookLM, which now supports long-context document analysis. This feature is expected to be particularly valuable for students, journalists, and researchers in mobile-first markets.
Other creative tools included in the plan are Flow, Whisk, and Veo 3 Fast, which enable rapid creation of animations, visual content, and video assets. Analysts say these tools are designed to appeal to Africa’s and Southeast Asia’s growing creator economy, where small businesses and freelancers increasingly rely on AI.
The rollout comes just a day after OpenAI expanded its ChatGPT Go plan to Indonesia. At under $5, that tier provides access to GPT-4-turbo but lacks Google’s bundled productivity apps and cloud storage. Experts believe the competition signals a shift in strategy, as companies move beyond competing on AI model strength to offering ecosystems that fit into daily workflows.
Adoption of AI tools is accelerating rapidly. According to Statista and GSMA, AI usage in Africa has grown by 240% since 2023, with Nigeria, Kenya, and Egypt leading adoption. Similar growth is being recorded in Indonesia and Vietnam, where mobile-driven workforces are quick to adopt AI-powered solutions.
Interestingly, India—a top AI market—was excluded from the rollout. Analysts say this may be due to pricing adjustments and regulatory hurdles linked to data localisation policies.
By pricing the AI Plus plan significantly lower than its $20 counterpart in the U.S. and Europe, Google is positioning itself to capture demand in emerging markets, where affordability often determines adoption. For users in Nigeria and across Africa, this could make powerful AI tools accessible at scale for the first time.
