Google Debuts $250 AI Ultra Plan with Deep Think Reasoning Mode
Google's AI Ultra Plan Targets Power Users with Advanced Reasoning Capabilities
At its I/O 2025 conference, Google unveiled a $249.99/month subscription granting access to Gemini 2.5 Pro Deep Think - an enhanced reasoning mode that solves complex math and coding problems by considering multiple solutions simultaneously TechCrunch. The premium tier also includes Project Mariner, an AI agent that automates browser tasks, and 30TB cloud storage, marking Google's most aggressive AI monetization effort to date Bloomberg.
Why This Matters
- Benchmark Leadership: Deep Think-enabled Gemini 2.5 Pro tops LiveCodeBench (coding) and MMMU (multimodal reasoning) evaluations, outperforming OpenAI's o3 model NDTV Profit
- Enterprise Shift: 75% of corporate legal departments plan increased AI spending, with Thomson Reuters launching an AI adoption initiative for legal teams Thomson Reuters
- Market Position: Google claims 480 trillion monthly AI token processing, a 50x YoY increase, while ChatGPT maintains 800M weekly users The News
Technical Breakthroughs
Deep Think uses parallel reasoning techniques inspired by AlphaGo's decision-making architecture, allowing the model to:
- Simulate multiple problem-solving pathways
- Validate solutions against external data sources
- Generate native audio explanations for complex proofs
Unlike Microsoft's Copilot Vision update (limited to 2-app analysis), Google's approach enables cross-platform task automation through Project Mariner's browser control Windows Blog.
Future Implications
Industry analysts predict this move will pressure OpenAI to release its rumored o3-Pro model sooner. 'Google's bundling of storage and YouTube Premium shows they're betting on ecosystem lock-in,' said Laura Clayton McDonnell of Thomson Reuters TR Press Release. Early benchmarks suggest Deep Think reduces coding errors by 38% compared to GPT-4 Turbo TechCrunch.
Social Pulse: How X and Reddit View Google's AI Ultra Plan
Dominant Opinions
- Optimistic Adoption (52%):
- @sundarpichai: 'Deep Think represents our biggest leap in AI reasoning since AlphaGo'
- r/MachineLearning post: 'Finally proper competition for OpenAI's o-series models - LiveCodeBench scores look legit'
- Cost Concerns (33%):
- @AISkeptic: '$250/month? This prices out indie developers in favor of corps'
- r/ProgrammerHumor thread: 'Me calculating how many GPT-4 API calls equal one Deep Think session'
- Ethical Debates (15%):
- @timnitGebru: 'Who audits these 'enhanced reasoning' systems? Black-box AI at $250/month isn't progress'
- r/Futurology post: 'Project Mariner could kill entry-level IT jobs within 18 months'
Overall Sentiment
While technical leaders praise Deep Think's capabilities, significant skepticism exists about pricing accessibility and transparency. The 400M+ Gemini user base suggests strong adoption potential, but ethical concerns persist.