▲ Google Gemini
Google has revamped its artificial intelligence (AI) model subscription plans, blocking low-tier subscribers and free users from accessing the "Pro" model.
According to Google customer support announcements on October 4 (local time), Google is downgrading the tiers of AI models accessible by subscription plan starting this month.
The Gemini Pro model, which was previously available to some extent even for free users, will now only be offered starting from the "AI Pro" subscription plan, which costs $19.99 per month (29,000 won in South Korea).
As a result, free users as well as subscribers to the lower-cost "AI Plus" plan—priced at $9.99 per month (7,500 won in South Korea)—will no longer be able to use the Pro model.
Google has restructured its plans so that free users can no longer use the lightweight "Gemini Flash" model either, restricted instead to the lower-performing "Gemini Flash-Lite" model.
Google plans to restrict free users' access to Gemini Flash and Pro starting October 9, while notifying subscribers individually via email regarding the specific implementation schedule for the plan overhaul.
However, Google has allowed users to choose the reasoning level of the model from "low," "medium," and "high."
Generally, even with a lower-performing model, increasing the reasoning level can yield higher-quality answers, but this consumes more of the AI usage limits allocated by Google.
Users of the AI Pro plan and the AI Ultra plan—which costs $99.99 or more per month—will also be able to use the "Deep Think" feature, which utilizes multiple models simultaneously for reasoning.
Google currently uses a limit system based on AI usage that resets every 5 hours.
Google's latest pricing restructure is interpreted as a price-hike measure ahead of the official release of a new top-tier model.
After releasing "Gemini 3.1 Pro" last February, development on Pro models stagnated for about 7 months before Google finally unveiled its top-tier model, "Gemini 4 Argon," on September 30.
Consequently, this is presumed to be a strategy to attract high-tier plan subscribers by utilizing the Gemini 4 Argon model, which consumes significant computing resources.
However, as free users are blocked from using not only the Pro model but also lightweight models in the process, complaints are expected to arise.
(Photo: Getty Images)
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