Google Has Abandoned the Paid Access to Gemini Functions
Today Google is announcing a slew of new Gemini features, this time aimed squarely at free users. Features that were previously only available as part of the $20/month premium plan will now be available to everyone.
Gems
Gems are Gemini’s little artificial helpers that you can create for any task. You can start with ready-made ones, such as Google Career Directory. But you can create a Gem for any purpose. You can create one for repetitive tasks or to help you research a topic with very specific prompts. Previously, the Gems feature was only available to Gemini Advanced users, but Google is now making it available to all users.
You’ll find gems in the sidebar where you can easily get started with ready-made gems.
In-Depth Research
Google also has a Deep Research feature. But unlike Perplexity , there used to be a paywall. Google is now making its Deep Research feature available for free to all users.
Deep Research is an AI feature where the AI model takes some time to think about your question using a reasoning model, and then it goes out into the open web, collating sources, digging deep into the issues, and then providing you with a detailed report instead of the simple point-by-point answers that regular AI chatbots provide.
In addition to making Deep Research free, Google is also adding its Flash Thinking Experimental Gemini 2.0 to Deep Research. A new model of thinking will help at every stage of research, including planning, reasoning, analysis and reporting. Deep Research will be available in over 45 languages and can be accessed via a drop-down menu in the Tooltip box.
In materials provided to the press, Google did not specify how many free Deep Research queries free users receive per day, although the company promised expanded access for Gemini Advanced users.
Gemini 2.0 Flash Model Updates
The Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking (Experimental) model will also receive an update. You can now upload files to use when answering queries, and Google says it has improved model performance and introduced advanced reasoning capabilities.
Gemini Advanced users will now also have access to a context window with 1 million tokens, allowing users to solve more complex problems.
Your Google Search History Goes to Gemini
Google is adding a new experimental feature called Gemini with Personalization, based on the Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking model. This allows Gemini to connect to your Google apps and services. The company is starting with Google Search, but will expand to Photos and YouTube in the coming months.
This means Gemini will have more information about you based on your Google searches, but only if you choose to enable the personalization model (experimental) in the model selection drop-down menu. Google also says the new feature will only use your search history when advanced Gemini models deem it necessary.
More powerful connections with Google apps
With the Flash Thinking 2.0 model, Gemini can now better handle complex queries involving multiple Google services, including Calendar, Notes, Tasks, and now Photos.
According to Google, you can use a single prompt like “check my calendar to find that ice cream place Ezra and I went to in May, save its address in your notes, send it to Lauren and suggest we go there” instead of jumping between multiple apps or asking Gemini three different questions.