Google Slashes AI Plan Price, Igniting US War

Google has cut its AI Plus subscription from $7.99 to $4.99 per month while doubling storage to 400GB, bringing budget AI pricing competition to American consumers for the first time. The plan includes video generation, Google Flow, and NotebookLM. Analysts warn this signals a broader commoditization of AI infrastructure, threatening the valuations of pure-play AI firms like OpenAI and Anthropic, both of which have filed confidentially to go public. Anthropic has yet to introduce budget pricing anywhere, a position that may become increasingly difficult to maintain.