Status of Gemini models
Here is a brief overview of the model line as of March 2026:
- Gemini 3 series (current flagships): The Gemini 3 generation is now fully rolled out and forms the backbone for end-user apps and corporate deployments.
- Gemini 3.1 Pro (Latest/Preview): Since February/March 2026, 3.1 Pro has replaced the original Gemini 3 Pro Preview as the primary high-end model (switched off on March 9, 2026). Focus: extreme reasoning, “vibe coding” and complex agentic workflows
- Gemini 3 Flash: Standard model for speed and efficiency; it offers the intelligence of previous Pro models with significantly lower latency
- Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite (New): It was introduced in March 2026 as an extremely cost-effective model and replaces the old Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite in the API.
- Gemini 3 Deep Think: A special mode for the Pro model, optimized for highly complex maths and logical problems
- Gemini 2.x/2.5: Models such as Gemini 2.0 Flash Experimental and 2.0 Flash Live are actively being converted to “legacy” status; many Gemini 2.0 models (Flash, Lite) already have a fixed end-of-life date.
- Older 1.x models (e.g. Gemini 1.5 Pro/Flash) have almost completely disappeared from the active directories and are only kept available for old systems (“deprecated”).
- Gemini Nano: On-device models (e.g. Nano‑1, Nano‑2) for Android/Pixel, optimized for keyboard completion, Smart Reply, small assistant features
In January 2026, Google launched a Lifecycle system introduced for Gemini models, which clearly shows which models “latest”(current), “preview”(preview) or “deprecated”(discontinued/switched off).
Gemini 3: An overview of developments
Before we explain Gemini as an AI application in more detail in general, we have briefly summarized the most important updates in advance. According to Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Gemini 3 allows “to bring every idea to life”, with a particular focus on multimodality, agentic coding, and visual and interactive outputs. Google publishes all updates and news about Gemini and AI products via the Google blog.
Everything you need to know about Gemini at a glance:
The updates up to March 2026 in detail
March 2026 marks one of the most extensive months in terms of Gemini's developments since the platform was launched:
Gemini 3.1 Pro (released February 2026) is Google's most powerful model. Gemini 3 Flash is the new standard in the Gemini app. The model is fast with academic-level reasoning and optional “Deep Think” mode for AI-Ultra subscribers.
The March 2026 pixel drop presented that with the help of Gemini App Actions, Gemini can now independently carry out tasks such as ordering groceries. The feature is initially available in beta in the US and South Korea and requires a Pixel 10 device and newer.
With the March 2026-Gemini drop, it becomes clear that Gemini should appear more personal and accessible: With the import memory tool, chat flows from other AI tools such as ChatGPT or Claude can be migrated directly to Gemini. Personal Intelligence links Gemini to Gmail, Photos, and YouTube and is now free for all US users. Other updates include Google TV getting Gemini-based answers and Deep Dives (USA limited).
Die Gemini API now supports the registration of Google Cloud Storage objects and HTTPS/signed URLs. This allows data to be transferred directly to the Gemini API without having to upload it again. In addition, the maximum payload size for inline data has been increased from 20 MB to 100 MB.
What does this mean specifically for users?
For users and companies, Gemini offers improved, multimodal AI support for text, images, voice, music, planning, and scalable enterprise solutions. Developers have more control and flexibility through deep “thinking,” expanded media inputs, structured outputs, and more tool integrations than ever before. This means faster implementation for software projects, e.g. prototypes, using the Gemini app, developer tools and the combination of Antigravity and Gemini 3. The most important trend is the shift towards true agentic AI, so that multi-level tasks are carried out independently by the AI.
What is behind Google Gemini?
Google Gemini comprises a family of multimodal large language models, who are able to understand and generate texts, images, videos and programming code themselves. There are two terms in this definition that should be better explained so that you can understand Google Gemini better.
As Large Language Models (LLM for short) In the field of artificial intelligence, neural networks are primarily referred to as neural networks that are able to understand, process and generate human language themselves in various ways. The term “large” describes the property that these models are trained on vast amounts of data and have several billion neurons or parameters that recognize the underlying structures in the text.
Multimodal models are part of machine learning and include architectures that can process several variants of data, the so-called modalities.
The most important features of Gemini
Google Gemini has become a broadly deployable AI ecosystem and Gemini 3 will be rolled out "at the scale of Google“ — i.e. simultaneously in several core products such as Google Search, Chrome, Workspace and Google Apps. Gemini can generate generative content such as text, images, and videos and combine contextual and personal intelligence with productivity and automation features such as auto-browse and agentic tasks.
Here are a few possible uses of the Gemini models:
- Marketing and content creation: automated texts for posts, captions, campaign planning and image generation
- Productivity and workspace: Summaries of documents, slides, and transcripts with personal intelligence as a connection between Google products
- Research and analysis: Report generation, multimodal analysis and step-by-step task processing
- Coding capabilities: Code generation, debugging and refactoring, and automated application development
Interpretation and generation with native multimodality
Just like GPT-5, OpenAI's comparable model and the currently most used LLM, Google Gemini is multimodal, meaning it can process various types of input, such as texts, images, videos or programming code, and also provide them as output. Gemini was developed from the start, so natively, as a multimodal system, so that complex conclusions and outputs can be generated from a wide variety of input formats. As a result, demanding tasks in areas such as mathematics or physics as well as data-intensive analyses can be completed much more efficiently. In addition, the improved deep-think and multi-expert architecture allows even more precise analysis and problem-solving in several steps.
Gemini can program and provide a finished application simply by analysing an image. This allows websites to be recreated, for example, by giving Gemini a screenshot of the current page. Although a screenshot cannot depict the full complexity of a website or program, it serves as a good starting point for further programming.
Image generation and video creation
At the end of February, Nano Banana 2, the updated model based on the Gemini 3.1 flash image platform, was rolled out. The model has better instructional following and text rendering. Text-to-image prompts provide photorealistic or stylized images based on the individual user request. Users can also combine text and image, for example by using Gemini to generate a new one from two images, including a suitable description. In an example from Google, it is shown how to make a wool octopus from two different coloured balls of wool, supplemented by instructions on how to make it.
In addition, with the integration of Gemini's Veo models, videos can be summarized and key frames extracted. For users of the Google AI Ultra subscription, the advanced Veo 3 model is available, which offers realistic videos and improved sound integration. However, full video generation is not yet available in the standard API. For now, Gemini is focused on analysis, not native generation.
Agentic capabilities
In 2026, Gemini 3 is clearly positioning itself as an agent system with browser and app control.
Deep Research is a specialized mode in Gemini 3 and represents an agentic research assistant. The web is searched autonomously (including Gmail/Drive) to collect information and create multipage reports with sources, visuals, and YouTube integrations. Agentic workflows are at the focus of development, as they enable autonomous task execution, even for multistep processes. This includes the live web browsing feature, which is integrated with Google apps such as Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Maps.
Gems allow you to create tailor-made assistants, such as a “marketing expert gem” that plans campaigns and optimizes SEO keywords.
With the Live API, Gemini enables real-time conversations with continuous back-and-forth streaming: audio and video inputs are processed live, ideal for voice agents in customer service. Gemini is currently available in over 230 countries and regions and in more than 70 languages. Google AI Pro users can also set Gemini to remember previous conversations. This makes the interaction even more personalized, but the protection of personal data must be taken into account.
Gemini in the early days
Google Gemini was unveiled for the first time at a virtual press conference on December 6, 2023. At the same time, both the Google blog and the website of the AI company Google DeepMind went online, which describe the functionalities of the new AI family. Early versions enabled simple code generation, image editing, and the combination of text and image information, among other things. Gemini found its first applications for basic research and learning support. With the introduction of Gemini 2 and subsequent updates, these capabilities have been steadily improved, in particular through deep think modes for multi-stage reasoning, editing longer documents, and analyzing complex mathematical and scientific tasks.
Which versions of Gemini are there?
Gemini 3
The “Gemini 3” series with the Flash and Pro variants was officially launched in November 2025 and has been Google's central model generation for powerful AI applications ever since. Gemini 3 Flash is the new standard in the Gemini app, and Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview has also been available since February 2026. The rollout will be continued gradually in 2026:
- End Users Get Gemini 3 via the Gemini app and web and browser integrations (including Search and Chrome)
- Developers can use Gemini 3 via the Gemini API, Google AI Studio, Vertex AI and the agent-oriented development environment Google Antigravity
- Companies and enterprise customers get access via Gemini Enterprise, via admin approvals in the control panel (“Gemini 3 Pro (Preview)” activated)
Parallel to the release of Gemini 3, the new Google Antigravity development platform, an agent‑first IDE, was presented at the end of 2025. The older generation 2 models will still be available, but individual preview variants will be gradually discontinued, and Google is clearly focusing on Gemini 3.
Gemini 3 models support an input context window of 1 million tokens and up to 64,000 token output, with intelligent retrieval and storage methods. Flexible media processing and quality control based on the parameter are noteworthy media_resolution. The parameter supports the levels low, medium, high and now also ultra_high. This regulates the resolution with which images/videos are processed. The parameter thinking_level allows to control the “depth of thought” or internal reasoning phase of AI.
Another advance is the output of generative user interfaces (UI); developers can generate interactive web UIs directly from prompts. An example was presented by Google as follows:
The rollout of Gemini 3.1 Pro is staggered, and some features are still in preview status, but Google is planning general availability soon.
Gemini 2.5 Pro
Google is gradually phasing out older model versions. The most important recent changes in model availability are as follows:
Already switched off
- Gemini 2.5 flash image preview
- Gemini 3 Pro preview (shut down March 9, 2026)
Scheduled shutdown
- Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite Preview-09-2025, discontinued on Gemini API and AI Studio as of March 31, 2026 (still available on Vertex AI)
- Gemini 2.0 Flash and Gemini 2.0 Flash Lite on Vertex AI only for existing customers since March 6, 2026
- Gemini 2.0 Flash/Flash-Lite will be discontinued as of June 1, 2026 June 2026
- Gemini 2.5 Flash Pro setting until June 17, 2026
- Shutdown of all image models on June 24, 2026
Gemini 2.0 and predecessor
The first generations of Google Bard and the early Gemini models created the basis for Google's multimodal AI, but are now largely replaced by newer versions. Old model series are therefore more interesting from a historical perspective, but they only play a minor role in current use and in professional applications.
Gemini 2.0 was presented in December 2024 and not only brought exciting new features, but also showed for the first time how versatile modern AI can be. This model series has now largely been replaced by Gemini 3. A particular focus was on proactive support: With so-called autonomous agents, 2.0 laid the foundation for AI models to act independently, under human supervision. The Gemini 2.0 family included four variants: Flash, Flash Lite, Flash Thinking (experimental) and Pro (experimental). Gemini 2.0 Flash and Flash Lite are the last 2.0 models still active. Flash Lite was considered the most cost-effective model in the family up to that point.
Gemini 1.5
All Gemini 1.0 and 1.5 models are already fully discontinued. API requests to these models return a 404 error.
Version 1.5 was announced at the beginning of 2024 shortly after Google released the three variants Gemini 1.0 Ultra, Pro and Nano. Gemini 1.5 Flash was a lighter model compared to Gemini 1.5 Pro that was optimized for speed and efficiency and was less expensive to deploy. The original model Gemini 1.0 consisted of three clearly defined versions: Ultra, Pro and Nano. Ultra was developed as the most powerful model in the series for particularly complex tasks and required a corresponding amount of computing power. Gemini 1.0 Pro was the “all-rounder”, designed for a wide range of applications. nano is specifically designed for on-device calculations on compatible Android devices.
How can Google Gemini be used?
Gemini 3.1 Pro is available to developers as a preview via the Gemini API in Google AI Studio, Gemini CLI, Antigravity, Vertex AI, and Android Studio, for both end users, developers and enterprises, with a focus on multimodality, generation, automation, and personalization.
Google AI Pro (formerly Gemini Advanced) subscribers can use Gemini models with no usage limit. Non-paying users still have access to Flash and Pro variants, but with limited usage limits; as soon as the limit is reached, they automatically fall back to the next lowest model variant, usually Gemini 3 Flash or — if not available — Gemini 2.5 Flash.
Google is now also making Deep Research available free of charge in the current 2.5 Flash model.
On Google Android smartphones, Gemini replaces the Google Assistant as Standard AI assistant. In use are various Gemini Nano models, which work multimodally and interact via text, images, or speech. For iOS users, the Gemini app needs to be installed to gain access to Gemini models via Apple devices.
Gemini's deep integration with Google's ecosystem, including Gmail, Calendar, Keep and Maps, It also improves the user experience and makes it easier to provide information. Google explains this feature as follows: “Have Gemini pick the lasagna recipe from your Gmail account and ask the AI Assistant to add the ingredients to your Keep shopping list.”
Within Google Maps, users can, for example, ask about activities or locations directly in the app, and Gemini provides personalized recommendations — all in real time and without their own search. Gemini is also replacing the Google Assistant on Google TV and with a new function, Gemini can operate smart home devices in the lock screen so that users can easily control the lights, heating or cameras, for example, without unlocking their mobile phones.
Google Gemini or GPT?
Gemini 3.1 and GPT-5.1 are close competitors in 2026, albeit with complementary strengths.
When OpenAI was launched in November 2022 with ChatGPT When the GPT-3 model was launched, the hype was enormous and Google was waiting for it to answer. It wasn't until March 2023 that Google released Bard, the predecessor of Gemini, which initially stood out primarily due to incorrect or humorous answers. However, with the renaming and development to Google Gemini, the chatbot has made a significant leap in quality and is now considered a serious competitor. Gemini is growing aggressively (18-24% GenAI market share at the beginning of 2026), particularly through search, Android and workspace integration (~750M MAU), but lags behind ChatGPT (~1-1.3 B MAU, 60-70% market share).
Gemini particularly shines when it comes to multimodality and Google integration, whereas GPT-5 shines when it comes to adaptive reasoning and developer tooling. We have briefly summarized recommendations for use:
From a technical point of view, both systems are constantly catching up. Gemini is currently doing very well in benchmarks for multimodality (processing of text, image, audio, video). GPT-5, on the other hand, is a leader in the areas of logical thinking, complex reasoning and scientific applications. OpenAI also relies on highly specialized submodels and advanced API functions, while with Gemini, Google focuses more on seamless integration into the Google ecosystem and everyday applications, but also on creative features such as video creation (Veo).
Which model is the “better” choice therefore depends heavily on the application. Both are thus setting new standards for the practical use of AI.
In addition to these top companies, however, the other competing players for chatbot systems and large language models should not be forgotten, which are also advancing. For example, because some require less computing power. We offer a detailed Overview of 20 ChatGPT alternatives in another article.
Conclusion
Google Gemini has established itself as a versatile AI system that stands out in particular due to its multimodal strengths and integration into the Google ecosystem. It also shines with continuous additions to functions such as Gemini Live, Scheduled Actions or Veo. Gemini is thus increasingly positioning itself as a personal assistant who takes on tasks and supports creative processes.
OpenAI, on the other hand, is setting new standards in the area of logical thinking and complex reasoning with GPT-5. While Gemini is particularly impressive with an enormous context window, multimodal processing and practical functions, GPT-5 shows its strengths in analytical depth and linguistic precision. The choice of the appropriate model therefore depends heavily on the intended use:
- Gemini is particularly suitable for users who value everyday usability and creative experiments and may already make heavy use of Google services.
- GPT-5, on the other hand, remains the first choice for demanding analysis and research tasks.
One thing is clear: Both systems will set the standard in the AI landscape in 2026 and drive competition forward.
Despite their impressive functionalities, Google Gemini and GPT‑5 are only conditionally suitable for companies' customer communication. Control over content and tonality, as well as legal requirements, are limited. moinAI combines the power of modern language models with complete control over cost and communications, so that companies can develop chatbots that operate consistently and in line with the brand.
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