Google’s own support page says the changes start to take effect on 9 October 2026 for Gemini app users without an AI subscription, and that AI Plus subscribers will get an email about when they reach them. Its table limits users without a plan to the Flash-Lite model, AI Plus subscribers to Flash-Lite and Flash, and only AI Pro and AI Ultra to Pro as well. We read that page, and label the prices and other details from 9to5Google as that outlet’s own reporting.
Business Pill · ONLY SO MANY PER MINUTE
A one-minute explainer of the idea behind this story: a rate limit. It teaches the concept, not this story’s figures.
The key insight:Google’s own page ties two things together: which models each plan can use once the changes take effect, and a usage limit that premium models, higher effort levels and features such as Deep Think spend faster. This publication sets them side by side as the page states them. The page gives no usage numbers.
Google’s support page “Changes to Gemini model access and limits” says that starting in October 2026 there will be changes to model availability for Gemini Apps when you use a personal account. It says the changes start to take effect on 9 October for users without an AI subscription, and that AI Plus subscribers should receive an email explaining when the changes reach them.
The page’s table shows which of three models each plan can use. Without a plan, only Flash-Lite is available. AI Plus gets Flash-Lite and Flash. AI Pro and AI Ultra get Flash-Lite, Flash and Pro.
This publication’s own arithmetic: that is 9 available cells out of 12 across four plans and three models, with 1 of 3 for users without a plan and 2 of 3 for AI Plus.
Google’s support page table, counted by this publication: users without a plan can use 1 of the 3 models, AI Plus 2 of 3, AI Pro and AI Ultra all 3, once the changes take effect (9 October 2026 for users without a plan; AI Plus timing is to be emailed).
The page says that for each available model you can also select an effort level of low, medium or high, which “will increase the model’s ability to complete tasks and provide more thorough answers to queries, but will also use more of your limit.”
It says AI Pro and AI Ultra subscribers also get the Deep Think option for maximum parallel reasoning. It does not say here which plans have Deep Think today.
The Usage Limits Behind It
The page’s “previous changes” section says that starting 17 May 2026 Gemini moved to compute-based usage limits that refresh every 5 hours until a weekly limit is reached, with usage calculated from prompt complexity, features used and chat length.
Update, 17 October: AI Plus Loses Pro on 13 November
Google has begun emailing Google AI Plus subscribers with the date, 9to5Google reported on 14 October, quoting an email shared on Reddit and signed by the Google One team: “Starting on 13 November 2026, the ability to select Pro models in both the Gemini app and AI Mode in Google Search will only be available to Google AI Pro subscribers and above.” The email says AI Plus subscribers keep “our latest Flash-Lite model and Flash,” and that “your previous chats using the Pro model can be continued with a different model.” Android Authority reported the same email and noted the date is later than the 9 October date previously reported.
Two details go beyond what this piece first reported. The change covers AI Mode in Google Search as well as the Gemini app, according to the email. And Google’s own support page still says only that AI Plus subscribers “should receive an email that explains when these changes will take effect,” so the 13 November date rests on the emails as 9to5Google and Android Authority quote them.
Google’s AI plans page, read on 17 October, lists Google AI Plus at $4.99 a month, Google AI Pro at $19.99, Google AI Ultra 5x at $99.99 and Google AI Ultra 20x at $199.99.
As we read it, the cheapest paid tier now buys speed and limits, not the top model: anyone who wants Pro in the Gemini app or AI Mode after 13 November has to move from $4.99 to the $19.99 plan, by this publication’s reading of Google’s price list.
It lists the multipliers: users without a plan get standard limits, AI Plus 2x higher than standard, AI Pro 4x higher than standard, and AI Ultra 5x or 20x higher than AI Pro depending on the subscription. It says premium models and features such as media generation, Deep Research, the Pro model, extended thinking and Deep Think use more of a limit.
What 9to5Google Adds
9to5Google, reporting on 3 October, says users who do not pay for Gemini will no longer be able to reach Flash or Pro, and that AI Plus costs $4.99 a month and AI Pro $19.99 a month. It says Deep Think is currently only on the $99.99 and $199.99 a month plans.
Those prices, the claim about what free users can use today and the model version labels in its article do not appear on Google’s page as this publication read it. 9to5Google also says it is not clear where Gemini 4 Argon fits.
How Alphabet Makes Money, Visualized
The plan changes above sit on top of Alphabet’s wider revenue mix, where subscriptions are one line next to search ads, YouTube and Google Cloud. Our 60-second video walks through how Alphabet makes money in 2025.
How Alphabet (Google) Makes Money in 60 Seconds (2025) (The Business Engineer on YouTube)
The Structural Read
Google’s support page works on two layers. The first is access: users without a plan can reach Flash-Lite only from 9 October, AI Plus subscribers Flash-Lite and Flash once their changes take effect, and AI Pro and AI Ultra subscribers all three models. The second is the limit: the page says usage is compute-based, refreshes every 5 hours until a weekly limit is reached, and is calculated from prompt complexity, features used and chat length.
The page says the two layers interact. A higher effort level makes the model more thorough but, in the page’s words, “will also use more of your limit,” and the page says premium models and features such as the Pro model, extended thinking and Deep Think use more of a limit.
The page gives plan multipliers rather than usage numbers: AI Plus 2x higher than standard, AI Pro 4x higher than standard, and AI Ultra 5x or 20x higher than AI Pro depending on the subscription. This publication’s own count of the table is 9 available cells out of 12.
Google’s support page, on effort levels
“will increase the model’s ability to complete tasks and provide more thorough answers to queries, but will also use more of your limit.”
Three Implications
ACCESS IS SET BY PLAN As the page’s table states it, users without a plan can use 1 of the 3 models from 9 October, AI Plus 2 of 3 once its changes take effect, and AI Pro and AI Ultra all 3. The 9-of-12 count is this publication’s own arithmetic.
USING MORE SPENDS MORE OF THE LIMIT The page says higher effort levels, the Pro model, extended thinking and Deep Think use more of a limit. It gives no usage numbers, so this publication cannot say how much.
THE PRICES COME FROM ELSEWHERE The monthly prices and the claim about what free users can use today are 9to5Google’s reporting. They do not appear on Google’s page as this publication read it.
What Is Not Established
Google’s page gives no date for AI Plus users, no prices, no description of what the free tier had before 9 October, and no usage numbers. This publication did not seek a response from Google and did not test the app.
Everything above is Google’s own published page, with 9to5Google’s additions labelled as its own reporting. None of it was independently verified. Nothing in this piece is investment advice.
Business Engineer Framework
The Map of AI — The Stack Beneath the Applications
The Map of AI places more than 200 companies across nine layers of the stack, from silicon to application. It shows the layers that sit beneath the applications people use every day.
As Google’s own support page states it, Gemini app users without a subscription are limited to Flash-Lite from 9 October, AI Plus subscribers get Flash-Lite and Flash once the changes reach them, and AI Pro and AI Ultra subscribers get all three models, while compute-based limits that refresh every 5 hours rise with the plan. The prices and other details from 9to5Google are that outlet’s reporting. This publication verified none of it independently.
91,000+ executives read Business Engineer for the AI strategy frameworks cited by ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity.
A note on sourcing. This piece draws on Google’s support page “Changes to Gemini model access and limits” and on 9to5Google’s report of 3 October 2026. The prices and other details attributed to 9to5Google are that outlet’s own reporting. We have not checked either independently and did not seek a response from Google. The 9-of-12 count is our own arithmetic. Nothing above predicts anything, and nothing here is investment advice.
Gennaro Cuofano is a CRO and tech executive who has worked in AI since late 2015, starting with bringing NLP, natural-language generation, voice and chatbot products to the marketing industry. His background is in law and finance: he holds a Master's degree in Law and an International MBA with an emphasis on corporate finance (LUISS Business School and the University of San Diego, 2012), and worked as a financial analyst at a real-estate investment firm in San Diego and as an assistant controller. His work focuses on business model strategy, business engineering and, more broadly, structural analysis: how companies make money, read from their own filings. He created FourWeekMBA and leads research there and at The Business Engineer, his newsletter on AI and business strategy, with over 95,000 subscribers and more than 1,000 published analyses. His writing has also appeared on Entrepreneur (for example, How to Digitize a Family Business in Europe) and HackerNoon. Find him on LinkedIn and Substack. See how we source.
Scroll to Top
Discover more from FourWeekMBA
Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.
