Google Workspace swaps Gems for AI skills, rewords Gemini on Starter plan
What happened
Between the Oct 5, 2026 and Oct 12, 2026 captures of Google's pricing page, Pulse recorded one change: Gemini AI wording changed: Starter bullet now 'Chat with Gemini AI'; comparison-table row 'Build custom AI experts with Gems' replaced by 'Customize AI with skills'. Pulse files it as a product change (positioning) with a neutral direction. Pulse's latest capture (Nov 2, 2026) lists Starter at $7, Standard at $14 and Plus at $22.
It lands 35 days after Google's previous change, "Google Workspace: promo discount cut from 50% to 30%/20% off" (Sep 7, 2026). Google has been tracked since 2025-12-20.
In the same window Microsoft, Anthropic, OpenAI and Metabase also changed their Cloud & DevOps pricing pages. Those moves are listed further down, and the Pulse Agent can compare them side by side.
- Starter · PositioningPositioning
Gemini AI wording changed: Starter bullet now 'Chat with Gemini AI'; comparison-table row 'Build custom AI experts with Gems' replaced by 'Customize AI with skills'.
| Plan | Field | Before | After | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | Positioning | Gemini AI wording changed: Starter bullet now 'Chat with Gemini AI'; comparison-table row 'Build custom AI experts with Gems' replaced by 'Customize AI with skills'. | Positioning | |
Values as written on Google's public pricing page in the two captures Pulse compared; where the page states no number, the cells give the wording before and after.
Evidence
The two captures Pulse comparedFull-page captures of Google's pricing page (cloud.google.com) from Oct 5, 2026 and Oct 12, 2026; the change is marked near the top of the page.
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Google, the last 90 days
Full history- Oct 12, 2026packagingGoogle Workspace swaps Gems for AI skills, rewords Gemini on Starter plan · this change
- Sep 7, 2026packagingGoogle Workspace: promo discount cut from 50% to 30%/20% off
Across Cloud & DevOps in the same window
All Cloud & DevOps changes- MicrosoftOct 12Microsoft Teams Home cuts Family and Premium storage from 6 TB to 2 TB shared
- AnthropicOct 12Anthropic API launches Haiku 5.5 at $0.10/$0.50 per MTok, Haiku 4.5 goes Legacy
- OpenAIOct 11OpenAI rewrites Free, Go, Plus and Pro taglines in "Best for" style
- MetabaseAug 24Metabase quietly reveals Enterprise-only paid air-gapped deployment option
Questions about this change
Did Google raise prices in October 2026?
No list-price increase was recorded between Oct 5, 2026 and Oct 12, 2026. The change Pulse detected was a product change: positioning.
What changed on Google's pricing page between Oct 5, 2026 and Oct 12, 2026?
Gemini AI wording changed: Starter bullet now 'Chat with Gemini AI'; comparison-table row 'Build custom AI experts with Gems' replaced by 'Customize AI with skills'. Pulse compared the captures it took on Oct 5, 2026 and Oct 12, 2026; the before/after table above lists each item as written on the page.
How often does Google change its pricing?
Pulse recorded 1 other pricing-page change for Google in the 90 days before this one; the previous change was "Google Workspace: promo discount cut from 50% to 30%/20% off" on Sep 7, 2026; Google has been tracked since 2025-12-20.