Google to cut free Gemini users to Flash‑Lite and give AI Pro Deep Think

Google is about to limit which Gemini models people can use by plan, 9to5Google reported on 3 October, citing a Google support document. Free users would keep only Flash-Lite and lose Flash and Pro. The Decoder, which reported the same change, says it starts in October. Neither outlet gives Google's own announcement, and the paper has not seen one.

AI Plus, the $4.99 monthly plan, would get Flash-Lite and Flash but no Pro, according to both outlets. AI Pro at $19.99 and the AI Ultra plans at $99.99 and $199.99 would keep all three models. The Decoder frames the move as a step toward the freemium split OpenAI uses in ChatGPT, where the strongest models sit behind payment.

The one gain is for AI Pro subscribers, who 9to5Google says will get Deep Think, the slow reasoning mode until now reserved for the Ultra plans. The report adds that the Gemini app will also add effort settings from low to high, as Google AI Studio has. The support document says higher effort improves answers but uses more of a user's limit.

The Decoder suggests the tiering could set the stage for Gemini 4 Argon, the model Google announced on 30 September and has so far offered only to a program for trusted cyber defenders. 9to5Google notes that Google has not said whether Argon would count as a Pro model or sit above Pro. That is the open question for subscribers.

The Decoder also argues that most casual users do not know which Gemini model they are running, so the practical effect may be small for them. Power users who rely on Flash or Pro for free would have to pay. Google has not commented in either report, and the exact start date was not confirmed by both outlets.