Science & Tech · AI · 1 day ago
Free Gemini users lose the ability to choose models
Google is changing how people on its free Gemini plan choose which AI model answers their prompts.
The model picker is being replaced by an Auto option, so free users can no longer select a model themselves.
Google says Auto will send most prompts to Flash-Lite, its fastest model, and may use Flash or Pro for tasks that need deeper reasoning.
Users can also choose Low, Medium or High thinking levels, which affect how much effort Gemini applies, but not which model handles the prompt.
Turning off automatic selection means responses fall back to Flash-Lite.
The change is rolling out to free accounts, while the new thinking levels are also being introduced across Gemini.
Google has not said the change is intended to push people toward paid plans, but subscribers retain more model access.
Google is removing manual model selection from the free Gemini app, leaving users with an Auto option.
Under Auto, most prompts go to Flash-Lite, while prompts needing deeper reasoning may be sent to Flash or Pro.
Free users who turn off automatic selection fall back to Flash-Lite, according to Digital Trends.
Google is also rolling out Low, Medium and High thinking levels to replace the previous Extended option.
The change was announced last week and was rolling out to most free accounts by the evening of October 10, according to 9to5Google.
- Who
- Free-plan users of the Gemini app.
- What
- They can no longer choose models manually and instead have Auto as their model-picker option.
- When
- The change was rolling out on October 10, 2026; Google announced it the previous week.
- Where
- In the Gemini app.
- Why
- Google says Auto selects the Gemini model best suited to each prompt.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Gemini will use auto model selection to send each prompt to the Gemini model that suits it best. Most prompts will go to Flash-Lite, our fastest model. Prompts that need deeper reasoning may go to Flash or Pro.
Google announced the change to model selection for free Gemini users.
9to5Google reported the change rolling out to the vast majority of its free accounts that evening.
- Free model-picker option
- Auto
- Most prompts
- Flash-Lite
- Deeper-reasoning prompts
- May be sent to Flash or Pro
- New thinking levels
- Low, Medium and High
- Previous thinking option
- Extended
Sources
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