# Google Play adding Usage-Based Billing subscriptions aimed at AI apps

> Source: <https://9to5google.com/2026/09/29/google-play-usage-subscriptions/>
> Published: 2026-09-29 16:29:26+00:00

Google Play today is [giving](https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2026/09/unlocking-Google-play-subscription-growth.html) Android developers more payment options around subscriptions, including Usage-Based Billing.

Google says the “subscription landscape is evolving rapidly” due to generative AI and “increasingly sophisticated app experiences.”

End users should be on the lookout for **Usage-Based Billing** to support generative AI apps and other usage-based services. This “prepaid metered billing” works by letting users “automatically top up their balance whenever it falls below a set threshold.” 

For large groups like businesses and schools, there’s **Multi-Quantity Subscription Purchase**. Organizations can “make multiple subscription purchases in a single transaction and easily assign those as seats or subscriptions to team members or students.”

**Mixed Carts** allow developers to sell auto-renewing subscriptions and one-time products at the same time. For example:

This unified experience also opens up powerful upsell opportunities for your business—such as offering targeted discounts if an end user purchases a complete bundle of a subscription and complementary in-app items together.

**Cross-Developer Bundling** lets developers “create and sell a hard bundle of two or more complementary subscriptions in your own catalog.” The example Google gives is bundling a language-learning app with a travel guide service for a “combined subscription at a discounted rate.”

This capability allows you to team up with other developers—or combine offerings across your own portfolio of apps—to deliver massive value through a single purchase.

These Play Store features are “currently available or rolling out through [Google’s] Early Access Program.”

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