Students to get free access to Google's AI tools for a year as Pakistan, tech giant ink agreement

Students to obtain free access to Google's AI tools for a year as Pakistan, tech giant ink agreement.

Key points

• It remarked Pakistan and Google had agreed to expand the Google Career Certificates programme to promote digital skills, with Google targeting 150, 000 certificates in Pakistan for 2026.
• "The cooperation marked significant progress towards PM Shehbaz's vision of increasing Pakistan's IT exports and digital economy to $30 billion by 2030, " it remarked.
• On Thursday, Google confirmed a $500, 000 investment to assist Pakistani families navigate the internet safely, launching an initiative to equip hundreds of thousands of households with digital safety tools.
• "Pakistani students will have free access for one year to advanced AI tools, including Google AI Plus and Gemini, " the PMO remarked.
• "The cooperation between the government of Pakistan and Google will lay the foundation for a new era of digital transformation and innovation in Pakistan, " the PMO continued.

Students to obtain free access to Google's AI tools for a year as Pakistan, tech giant ink agreement. Syed Irfan Raza Published August 21, 2026 Updated August 21, 2026 11: 56am. Add Dawn as a trusted source.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Google on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to promote the country's digital transformation, with students in the country getting free access to the tech giant's advanced artificial intelligence (AI) tools for a year.

Meanwhile, the MoU was signed during a reception hosted by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in honour of the Google team at the PM House, according to an official press release issued by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

"Pakistan and Google signed an MoU to promote national digital transformation and innovation, " it remarked.

Under the agreement, the two sides will expand cooperation in digital skills, information technology exports and innovation, the PMO remarked.

Meanwhile, the two sides additionally agreed to enhance access for Pakistani students to Google's advanced artificial intelligence (AI) tools.

"Pakistan and Google agreed to cooperate on establishing an AI centre of excellence in Islamabad, " it remarked, adding that the centre would train Pakistani youth and human resources according to the requirements of the global market.

Meanwhile, the PMO remarked the two sides would additionally cooperate to enhance the global competitiveness of Pakistan's mobile applications and gaming industry, promote digital payments and expand the scope of digital commerce.

It remarked Pakistan and Google would cooperate on using AI to improve public service delivery and produce administration affairs more efficient.

"AI-powered data analytics will be used in the Federal Board of Revenue's digitisation programme, " the PMO remarked.

While digital platforms would be leveraged to support small and medium-sized enterprises gain access to global markets, it went on, the two sides additionally agreed to apply AI in agriculture for crop monitoring, forecasting and sustainable farming practices.

According to the PMO, a task force comprising the administration, Google and relevant stakeholders would be established to prepare a roadmap for Pakistan's IT exports and competitiveness.

"The task force will identify barriers to IT exports and opportunities for growth, " it remarked.

Meanwhile, the PMO remarked the agreement would additionally expand opportunities for young individuals in digital skills, startups and the technology sector through greater cooperation.

Notably, the funding, committed by Google.org, will backing the "Digital Pasban" initiative. It seeks to provide 200, 000 households with Urdu-language safety toolkits, videos and parental workshops.

For context, the financial commitment aligns with Google's strategy for a long-term business presence in Pakistan, marked by the inauguration of its local office in Karachi earlier this week.

In practice, the US-based technology giant opened the office on Tuesday, almost four years after it first registered in the country, describing the move as a major milestone.

Taken together, the developments around students to get free access to Google' s AI tools for a year point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.