Google Restricts Free Access to Gemini AI Models

Google will restrict free access to its Gemini artificial intelligence models beginning October 9, 2026. Under the new availability structure, users without a Google AI subscription will lose access to two of the three previously free models and will be limited to the Flash-Lite model.

Subscription tiers are also being restructured. Google AI Plus subscribers will retain access to Flash-Lite and Flash but will lose access to the Pro model. Full access to Flash-Lite, Flash, and Pro will be reserved for subscribers of Google AI Pro and Google AI Ultra.

As part of these changes, Google AI Pro and AI Ultra subscribers will receive access to Deep Think. This new feature is designed to provide maximum parallel reasoning for complex tasks.