{
  "id": 11936589,
  "title": "Free and Plus Google AI users are losing access to some Gemini models",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/04/free-and-plus-google-ai-users-are-losing-access-to-some-gemini-models",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-04T13:30:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "TechRadar",
    "slug": "techradar",
    "url": "https://www.techradar.com/ai-platforms-assistants/gemini/if-youre-on-the-free-or-plus-tiers-for-google-ai-youre-about-to-lose-access-to-some-gemini-models-heres-whats-changing"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Google is altering model access in Gemini, with the best models being eliminated from the free and Plus tiers. The updates will be applied starting October 9. Users on the cheapest Plus plan and free tier will lose access to certain models, while those on the $4.99 / £4.49 / AU$7.99 AI Plus plan will lose access to the Pro (3.1) model but still have access to the Flash (3.6) model. The AI Pro and AI Ultra tiers will not be affected, except for AI Pro gaining the Deep Think mode that sacrifices speed for parallel reasoning. Users will receive a message in the Gemini app or via email if they are affected by the changes. The free tier restrictions will be implemented on October 9, while AI Plus users will receive an email with the schedule. The new model access restrictions are similar to those offered by OpenAI, with higher usage limits for paid users. Google's decision to implement these restrictions may be due to the high costs of AI compute and to encourage more users to subscribe for access.",
  "summary": "If you want access to the best models inside Gemini, you're going to have to start paying for them.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}