Google revises AI Gemini plan... Block access to ‘Pro’ model for low-cost and free users

(San Francisco = Yonhap News) Correspondent Kwon Young-jeon = Google revamped its artificial intelligence (AI) model Gemini plan, preventing low-cost subscribers and free users from accessing the 'Pro' model.

According to a Google Customer Center announcement on the 4th (local time), starting this month, Google will lower the level of AI models that can be accessed by plan.

The Gemini Pro model, which was previously available to some free users, will be available starting with the 'AI Pro' plan with a monthly subscription fee of $19.99 (KRW 29,000 in Korea).

Accordingly, not only free users but also subscribers of the low-cost 'AI Plus' plan, which costs $9.99 per month (KRW 7,500 in Korea), will no longer be able to use the pro model.

Google has revised its rate plan so that free users cannot use the lightweight model 'Gemini Flash' and can only use the 'Gemini Flash-Lite' model, which has lower performance.

Google plans to restrict free users' access to Gemini Flash and Pro starting on the 9th, and subscribers will be individually notified by email when specific plan changes will be applied.

However, Google allows users to select the model's inference level from 'low', 'medium', and 'high'.

In general, even models with low performance can provide higher quality answers by increasing the level of inference, but in this case, the AI ​​usage limit granted by Google will also be used more.

AI Pro and AI Ultra plan users with a monthly subscription of $99.99 or more can also use the 'Deep Sync' function, which uses multiple models at the same time to make inferences.

Google currently uses an AI usage-based cap system that resets every five hours.

Google's plan reform is interpreted as a rate increase ahead of the official launch of the new top model.

After releasing the 'Gemini 3.1 Pro' in February, Google's pro model development was sluggish for about 7 months, and it only introduced the top model 'Gemini 4 Argon' on the 30th of last month.

Accordingly, it is believed to be a strategy to attract subscribers to high-priced plans by utilizing the Gemini 4 Argon model, which consumes large computing resources.

However, in this process, voices of dissatisfaction are expected to arise as free users are prevented from using the pro model as well as the lightweight model.