Google limits free Gemini users to Flash-Lite from Oct. 9, adds Deep Think to AI Pro and a Map tool to the app

Google will restrict free users of its Gemini app to Flash-Lite, its smallest and cheapest model, starting October 9. Free users will no longer be able to use Gemini 3.6 Flash or 3.1 Pro, 9to5Google reported. The change comes from Alphabet (GOOGL) as the standalone app passed one billion monthly users over the summer, according to CEO Sundar Pichai.

Paid tiers shift too. AI Plus subscribers, at $4.99 a month, keep Flash and Flash-Lite but lose Pro, with the timing communicated by email rather than tied to October 9. AI Pro, at $19.99 a month, gains the Deep Think option for maximum parallel reasoning, which was previously limited to higher plans such as AI Ultra at $199.99. Every model is also getting low, medium and high effort settings during October, and higher effort uses up limits faster.

The Gemini app on Android and iOS also gained a Map tool. Per 9to5Google, it shows a live map of the user's location with pan, zoom and search, and an "Explore this area" button adds the selected area to the prompt. It is mobile only, with no desktop version.

Gemini in Chrome on Android may also reach more regions, but only as a test so far: PiunikaWeb spotted the Gemini toolbar button in Chrome Canary on some devices in what appears to be an A/B test, stable Chrome does not have it, and no release timeframe is known.

Google has not published how Flash-Lite compares with the models free users are losing. Watch for the AI Plus timing emails, the effort-setting rollout, and any sign that the cutback moves free users toward paid plans.