Google just put the brakes on free Gemini use

Google announced Gemini 3 recently, its new language model that powers a range of services. While imbued with new powers, it seems that they are in great demand, with Google changing the free access to the service.

The software giant has a number of tiers for access to its AI services and slightly different criteria for access, so things can a little confusing. There's free access through the Gemini app, there's a paid-for version with Google AI Pro, and then there's Google AI Ultra.

These tiers encompass a range of different users, from the casual users getting access free through a Google Account, to those paying £18.99 a month ($19.99 / €21.99) for Google AI Pro, and finally Google AI Ultra at £234.99 a month ($249.99 / €274.99). It seems that users on the free tier are now facing more limits.

According to 9to5Google, when Gemini 3 was first announced, free users got five prompts a day in Gemini 3 Pro as well as three images a day from Gemini Banana Pro. That matched the previous offering of Gemini 2.5.

Now the access guidelines have changed, showing that on the free tier "daily limits may change frequently", while Gemini Banana Pro is limited to two images a day. This appears to move away from a numerically defined allowance, giving Google more freedom to restrict free users.

That could be in response to popularity, saving server access for those who are paying – or it might just be that Google feels that now is the time to squeeze users on the free tier, encouraging them to moved to paid access instead.

Note that this affects the "pro" side of Gemini – Thinking with 3 Pro – rather than the "fast" side of the service, which is likely what a lot of customers are using for casual information finding. Thinking is described as "thinks through complex topics" so is more research-based rather than just asking when ice cream was invented.*

Google provides a little explanation for limit changes, saying "Limits may change without notice, including due to capacity constraints. When there’s a large increase in activity in Gemini Apps, we may change limits to maintain a high standard of quality. If capacity changes, limits for users without a Pro or Ultra plan may be limited before users with a plan."

That seems to be an overriding caveat for Gemini as a whole, giving Google the power to maintain the service in the face of changing demand. Google, currently, is also offering Google AI Pro free for a month, as well as offering Google AI Ultra with a substantial discount.

Customers who bought the Pixel 9 or Pixel 10 may also find that a one-year trial to Google AI Pro was included.

*For those wondering, Gemini says that ancient Greeks enjoyed snow or ice flavoured with honey, while during the Tang Dynasty in China, emperors had a chilled milk dessert that was cooled in ice – and is likely the precursor to modern ice cream. But it was the evolution beyond sorbet in Europe in the 1660s, when recognisable ice cream recipes appeared.