Study Smarter with AI: OpenAI’s Study Mode vs. Gemini’s Student Plan

As per Precedence Research, global AI in education is expected to grow up to $112.3 billion by 2034. 

AI has established its presence almost everywhere, and it appears to be making a significant impact in the education sector as well. This futuristic concept has now blended and become an everyday affair. So, why not the students leverage it. EdTech platforms have been using AI tools for students to benefit both the educators and students.   

Every individual student has their own learning journey. This is where AI has been making significant strides to enhance its academic track. With AI being able to personalize courses according to their cognitive ability, the information delivered to them will be tailored to their understanding ability.   

But wondering where to start? This blog will help students reflect on OpenAI’s Study Mode and Gemini’s Student Plan to help them get the hang of it.   

An interesting read: Fastest Growing AI Job Skills in 2025 

The Rise of AI in Education 

Can you believe it if we said that AI in education has been in practice for over 50 years? Yes, that’s right. Although not as advanced as we see today, it began in the 1960s as an ITS (Intelligent Tutoring System) to provide students with personalized instruction. This provided a tailored experience for students, helping them focus on their own pace and individual performance.     

In recent times, gone are the days when students used textbooks, flashcards, and handwritten notes though once they formed the backbone of education. With the landscape being shifted 180 degrees, AI has now replaced all these in a much more engaging and creative way leading to a progressive change.  

Give this a try: The Future of Education: 6 Trends Shaping Online Learning in 2026 

Study Mode by OpenAI 

OpenAI launched Study Mode in ChatGPT to help students avoid the misuse of AI tools at universities and encourage responsible academic use of the chatbot. One thing that OpenAI observed was that, regardless of the age of technology, the problem for students seemed to stay the same.   

Homework problems, preparing for course exams, and decomplicating topics are some common challenges. This feature was introduced to ensure genuine learning — not just memorizing and repeating information but truly making sense of it from the student’s perspective. 

With individual skill levels varying among students, when learners engage with the study mode, they receive a comprehensive overview of the topic they are studying. This will pave the way for them to think critically with key features such as the following:   

Worthy read: DALL-E to ChatGPT: Impact of AI in higher education 

• Interactive plots: With an approach to Socratic questioning, prompts that help the GPT understand your level of intellect facilitate active listening. 

An excerpt from a ChatGPT response for the prompt “Can you explain me in detail about the concept of string theory”.  

• Scaffolded responses: Even for complex topics, neat, composed, and comprehensive responses are used. With easy-to-follow sections, even complex issues appear minimalist and straightforward. 

On further request, the study mode was designed with a step-by-step approach to make it more comprehensible for the learner. 

• Personalized support: With each response, GPT will understand the right level of intellect of each user and tailor the responses as per that.  

The check-in question will help the GPT understand the learners’ capabilities, and future responses will be tailored accordingly.   

• Knowledge checks: Once the theory is explained, learners can ask GPT to create quizzes, pose open-ended questions, and provide personalized feedback, among other features, which help track progress, support knowledge retention, and facilitate the acquisition of new information in various contexts.   

          An overview of how different aspects of knowledge check helps the students to further strengthen their understanding.  

Flexibility: Users/learners can easily switch between the study mode or the general conversational mode of GPT at any point of time.  

The Study and learn can be easily toggled on/off as per the requirement of the learner 

As a starting point in an otherwise lengthy journey to improve the learning experience, it is primarily driven by custom system instructions. But with further iteration and student feedback, the StudyMode is going to get better than ever.   

Check it out: How AI reimagines English language learning 

Student Plan by Gemini 

A plan worth INR 19,500 is offered free of charge to Indian students by Gemini AI. As GPT, one thing that Gemini observed was that people over 18 years were extensively relying on Gemini to help them break down and simplify complicated topics.   

A Google-Kantar report revealed that at least 75% of Indians have been searching for a platform that can help them grow and excel in all aspects. This gap in the market prompted Gemini to offer its Google AI Pro plan subscription free to Indians. This unlimited AI for homework helper will be a great use to students to use their fully expanded suite of advanced AI tools.   

Some of the other tools included in the study are:  

• NotebookLM (with 5x usage limits) 

• Gemini Live 

• Veo 3 

• Deep Research tools 

• Integration with other Google tools like Gmail, Docs, Sheets among others 

India is one among the first countries to get this free pass as it was observed that it was time they took this initiative. The free upgrade is made available through One Drive once students have logged in with their college email ID. This offer closes on 15 September 2025.  

Below are the requisites for students to avail this golden opportunity:  

• Should be above 18 years of age 

• Be a resident of India 

• The student status should be verified with a valid school email address 

• Must have a personal Google account and Google Payment account 

• Subscribe to Google AI Pro through the Google Play Store. 

For more details, please visit: Google One membership Offer terms 

Comparison: Study Mode vs. Student Plan 

Aspect	Study Mode (ChatGPT)	Gemini Student Plan
Learning Style	Step-by-step guidance, Socratic questioning	Flashcards, summaries, project support
Personalization	Adapts via conversation & memory	Uses uploaded notes/docs in Workspace
Content Format	Mostly text-based, dialogue-driven	Multimodal: text, images, video, voice
Access	Available across ChatGPT plans	Free 1-year plan in select regions
Extras	Focused only on learning process	2 TB storage + Google Workspace integration

Conclusion 

The future of AI in education is obvious. It will be used as a personalized tutor to help learners embark on every learning journey with enthusiasm and confidence. Furthermore, this will also help students track their progress, create custom roadmaps, offer real-time support, and more.   

Online Manipal offers a flexible online degree program for students and working professionals. Being an online setup, students need to cultivate strong self-study habits and utilize several digital tools to succeed. Students can embrace the StudyMode of AI as their ‘Learning Coach” and Gemini’s student plan as their “Productivity Kit”.   

With Online Manipal’s structured learning standards, these tools are a great fit as they complement each other, making studying more interactive, personalized, and efficient.   

Having access to quality degrees, if you are someone looking for career advancement or seeking a new skill, then enroll in any of our courses and take the golden opportunity to maximize the usability of these two tools to embrace success.  

References: AI in Education Market Size and Forecast 2025 to 2034