Google is cutting down free Gemini features. Get ready for this change

Google is trying to get Gemini to as many people as possible, and last week it also introduced the Gemini 4 Argon model. However, those who don’t pay for its artificial intelligence must prepare for a significant limitation. From Friday, the Gemini app will only offer the lightest Flash-Lite model. For a quick query, it will probably suffice, but for any more serious work, perhaps less so.

What will you have left if you don’t pay for Gemini?

Google described the change on an updated help page. Users without a Google AI subscription will lose access to Flash and Pro models on October 9th and will only have Flash-Lite. This applies to Gemini apps you use with a personal account.

Flash-Lite is the smallest and fastest model in the offering, designed mainly for simpler tasks. For a short answer, translation, or text summary, it should continue to serve you well. However, for programming, longer analyses, or more complex reasoning, you will likely feel the difference more compared to the Flash and Pro models.

The limits Google introduced in May also apply. They are calculated based on computational intensity, refresh every five hours until the weekly cap is exhausted, and non-paying users have the lowest ones. AI Plus offers double, AI Pro quadruple.

AI Plus Subscribers Will Lose the Pro Model

Even the cheapest paid plan will not escape changes. AI Plus, which costs 220 Kč per month in the Czech Republic, as we wrote in May, will lose the Pro model and will only retain Flash-Lite and Flash. According to Google, subscribers will be informed of the exact date of the change via email.

The AI Pro plan, costing 549.99 Kč per month, will, on the other hand, improve. In addition to all three models, it will newly gain the Deep Think feature, which Google describes as “maximum parallel reasoning.” Previously, only AI Ultra subscribers, who pay at least 2,999.99 Kč per month in the Czech Republic, had access to it.

Where Does Gemini 4 Argon Fit In?

In the same help section, Google mentions another novelty. For each available model, you can now choose a level of effort – low, medium, or high. A higher level is intended to help the model with more demanding tasks and more thorough answers, but it will also consume a larger portion of the limit.

The newest model remains an open question. Among app subscribers, those with the AI Ultra plan will be the first to receive Gemini 4 Argon, but Google has not specified a date. As 9to5Google points out, it is not yet clear whether Argon will be categorized among the Pro models, or if a new tier will be created for it above them.

Will you be content with free Gemini, or will you pay extra due to the change?

Sources: Google, 9to5Google