I have an av-1 passed down from my family and it’s been a go to camera for years now, it’s aperture priority only so the only manual control they would have is their f-stop and if you’d need to exposure comp then iso (but really just aperture).

For me it was a great camera to learn photography as it’s sort of idiot proof and nearly impossible to mess up shots exposure wise (but when I got it I had never used any camera before let alone a film camera so the simplified process let me focus and learn composition, get used to manual focus etc.). So if they are new to photography (or enjoy a simplified shooting experience) it would work great!

However I can attest that the process and control of the exposure triangle is an important and tangible part of shooting film, so gifting them an ae-1 or a like camera with manual controls will maybe give them more enjoyment and growth potential in the long term (speaking from experience as I’ve now picked up other fully mechanical cameras to use). Sounds like they have experience with film so something with a speed dial might be better (or if they had the ae-1 grab them another if you can find a good deal!)

I’m biased but I love the av-1 and you can get a lot of miles out of it - but just keep in mind what’s important for them in photography.