SAN FRANCISCO, May 15 (Reuters) - Alphabet's

Google One subscription service, which charges consumers for

cloud storage and artificial intelligence features, recently

crossed 150 million subscribers, the company told Reuters.

That represents a 50% increase since February 2024, when

Google One crossed 100 million subscriptions nearly six years

after the service launched.

The same month, Google introduced a $19.99 a month plan with

access to AI capabilities unavailable for free users. The

company continues to offer Google One subscription tiers for

file storage, but without most AI features, at lower prices.

The new AI tier accounted for "millions" of subscriptions,

according to Shimrit Ben-Yair, a vice president at Google in

charge of the subscription service.

Google One is part of Alphabet's effort to diversify beyond

advertising, which accounted for more than three-quarters of its

$350 billion in overall 2024 revenue.

Alphabet's success with subscriptions could play a key role

in its long-term financial outlook as it grapples with the

threat of AI chatbots, like OpenAI's ChatGPT or Google's own

Gemini, to its search engine stronghold.

AI offerings caused a decline in searches on Apple's ( AAPL )

Safari browser for the first time ever, an Apple ( AAPL ) executive said

during court testimony last week. The iPhone maker is looking to

introduce AI-powered search options, a blow for Alphabet, which

lost $150 billion in market value that day.

Unlike with search engines, AI interfaces have yet to find a

seamless way to incorporate ads. Many companies are instead

charging users through subscriptions or based on product usage.

Investors have questioned how Google will adapt.

"Just like you've seen with YouTube, we'll give people

options over time," CEO Sundar Pichai said in February when

asked efforts to monetize Gemini during an earnings call. "For

this year, I think you'll see us be focused on the subscription

direction."