Google Chrome Is Still Free, But Agentic AI Features May Require A Subscription

By Chris Smith
Using Google Chrome on a laptop. Alex Photo Stock/Shutterstock

Like most Google products, the Chrome browser is available for free on multiple platforms, from desktop to mobile. As the world's most popular browser, most people are using Chrome to surf the web every day for free, but that may change in the future. Chrome users may have to subscribe to an AI plan to use some of the latest Chrome features, including agentic browsing. Google has not announced these new features, but it's already working on them, and plans for charging users may have leaked.

X user Leopeva64 found evidence in Chrome code that indicates the agentic capabilities Google has been developing will be gated behind paid subscription tiers, at least at first. According to XDA Developers, the X user often uncovers new features in Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge code. Leopeva64 shared the update on Chrome's agentic capabilities on Christmas Eve as a response to a post from October where he detailed a new toggle to enable/disable agentic Gemini behavior in Chrome.

Google has already added Gemini features to Chrome. Dubbed Gemini in Chrome, the feature lets you use Google's chatbot while browsing the web instead of having to dedicate a tab to Gemini. Gemini in Chrome is capable of summarizing websites and YouTube videos, and it can also access tabs and browsing history. The browser even lets you start an AI Mode search directly from the address bar.

What is agentic AI browsing?

The Gemini prompt composer in the Gemini app. Nwz/Shutterstock

Google's interest in adding agentic AI capabilities to Chrome shouldn't be surprising. 2025 has been the year of AI browsers, from new browsers like Perplexity Comet and ChatGPT Atlas to the changes in Google Chrome. AI firms are developing new internet browsing experiences that have AI at the center, including agentic browsing. It's a more complex AI workflow that involves having an AI chatbot autonomously browse the web for specific information or products. AI agents can also perform certain activities on behalf of the user, including making restaurant reservations, adding products to a cart, and completing purchases. Google has already added agentic features to AI Mode, which can help with tasks like finding and booking a table at a restaurant.

That said, it's unclear what sort of agentic experiences in Chrome will be locked behind a premium Gemini AI subscription. We can only speculate that Google may be working on more advanced agentic browser behavior for Gemini, which may be more expensive to process than a simple chat with the assistant. As such, these unannounced agentic features may be available only to Google AI Pro and Google AI Ultra users.

These are paid Gemini tiers, priced at $20/month and $250/month, respectively. On that note, Google is running a limited deal on Google One cloud storage plans that also covers the Google AI Pro tier. You can purchase a year of access for a 50% discount, assuming you're a new Google One subscriber. In time, the agentic Gemini AI features may be available free of charge. After all, the Gemini in Chrome feature also required a paid subscription before becoming free to anyone, as Leopeva64 also pointed out on X.

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