In a revealing look at AI tool adoption and willingness to pay, hedge fund manager Sam Leffell has disclosed that he maintains a $20 monthly Google Gemini subscription solely to access a single Gmail feature called Polish. This AI-powered email enhancement tool, which activates with a simple keyboard shortcut (Alt+H on Windows or Option+H on Mac), automatically improves any email containing at least 12 words.
Leffell, who extensively uses ChatGPT for both professional and personal tasks, initially subscribed to Google’s Gemini AI service to explore its capabilities. Among all of Gemini’s features, he found Polish to be the most valuable, dramatically reducing the time required to compose emails. “Writing emails now takes a fraction of the time it used to,” Leffell explained, noting that while he still makes minor edits, the process is significantly faster and produces better results.
The situation took an interesting turn when Leffell decided to cancel his Gemini subscription. His reasoning was straightforward: based on his experience, ChatGPT outperformed Gemini for most AI tasks. However, upon cancellation, he discovered that the Polish feature in Gmail disappeared along with his subscription. This loss proved unacceptable to his workflow.
The value proposition became clear when Leffell immediately resubscribed to Gemini, despite preferring ChatGPT for other tasks. He now maintains the $20 monthly subscription exclusively for the Polish button, demonstrating the high value he places on this single AI application. This case study highlights several important trends in the AI tools market: users are willing to pay premium prices for specific features that deliver clear productivity gains, the “killer app” phenomenon remains relevant in AI adoption, and subscription fatigue hasn’t deterred professionals from investing in tools that demonstrably improve their workflow.
Leffell’s experience also reveals the competitive dynamics between major AI platforms, where users often maintain multiple subscriptions to access best-in-class features from different providers rather than committing to a single ecosystem.
Key Quotes
Writing emails now takes a fraction of the time it used to. I still make picky edits, but it’s a lot quicker and better.
Hedge fund manager Sam Leffell describing the productivity impact of Gmail’s AI-powered Polish feature, demonstrating measurable time savings that justify his subscription cost.
That surprised me. So now I’m paying Google a certain amount each month, just to have this button to polish all my emails. That’s how valuable this is.
Leffell explaining his decision to resubscribe to Gemini after discovering the Polish feature disappeared with his cancellation, revealing the high value he places on this single AI application despite preferring ChatGPT for other tasks.
Our Take
This case study perfectly illustrates the “unbundling” challenge facing AI platform providers. While companies like Google and OpenAI are building comprehensive AI ecosystems, users are cherry-picking specific features they find most valuable. Leffell’s behavior—paying $20 monthly for essentially one feature while using a competitor’s product for everything else—suggests that feature-level competition may be more important than platform loyalty in AI adoption. This has significant implications for pricing strategies and product development. Companies may need to consider more granular subscription tiers or à la carte pricing models. The story also validates that workplace productivity tools represent one of AI’s strongest value propositions, with professionals willing to pay premium prices for time savings. As AI capabilities commoditize, the winners may be those who identify and perfect these specific high-value use cases rather than those offering the most comprehensive platforms.
Why This Matters
This story provides crucial insights into AI monetization strategies and user behavior in the rapidly evolving artificial intelligence market. Leffell’s willingness to pay $20 monthly for a single feature demonstrates that consumers will invest in AI tools that deliver tangible, measurable productivity improvements, even at premium price points.
The case highlights the importance of killer applications in AI adoption—specific features that become indispensable to users’ workflows. For Google and other AI companies, this suggests that success may come not from comprehensive AI platforms, but from developing highly specialized tools that solve specific pain points exceptionally well.
The story also reveals the multi-platform reality of AI tool usage, where professionals maintain subscriptions to multiple services to access best-in-class features. This fragmentation presents both opportunities and challenges for AI companies competing for market share. As businesses invest billions in AI development, understanding what users actually value—and what they’ll pay for—becomes critical for sustainable business models in the AI industry.
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Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-would-you-pay-for-single-ai-killer-app-2025-12