If you open Gemini and pick a model before typing a question, the menu is about to matter more. Google says that from 9 October, people using a personal account without a paid AI plan will be limited to Flash-Lite. AI Plus subscribers will keep Flash as well, but lose Pro. AI Pro and AI Ultra users keep all three listed model families.
The change appears on Google's own Gemini Apps Help page, and 9to5Google reported the revised table on 3 October. This is about model availability in the Gemini app for personal accounts. It is not a claim that every Gemini feature vanishes for free users, nor a universal timetable for workplace or school accounts.
Here is the simple version of Google's table. No plan: Flash-Lite. AI Plus: Flash-Lite and Flash. AI Pro or AI Ultra: Flash-Lite, Flash and Pro. Google says the free-tier change starts on 9 October. Plus subscribers should receive an email explaining when the change reaches them, so their timing may differ.
There is also an addition for paying users. Google's page says AI Pro and AI Ultra subscribers will have access to a Deep Think option for more intensive parallel reasoning. For available models, it lists low, medium and high effort settings. Higher effort may produce a more thorough answer but use more of a person's allowance, according to Google.
That allowance has already changed once this year. Google says Gemini moved to compute-based usage limits in May, with refreshes every five hours until a weekly limit is reached. Complex prompts, longer chats and features such as media generation or research can consume more of that allowance. So model access and usage allowance are separate questions: having a model in your menu does not mean unlimited use.
The practical move is to check the plan name on your personal Google account and watch for an email if you subscribe to AI Plus. If you rely on Pro for a particular task, do not assume a free or Plus plan will keep opening it after the change. Google has published the new ladder; the exact impact on your routine depends on which model you actually use.
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