Free Gemini drops to Flash Lite only from October 9

Google is changing what free Gemini users get. From October 9, anyone on the free plan will be limited to the Flash Lite model. Today free users can pick between Flash Lite, Flash and Pro, but the standard Flash model will now require a Google AI Plus subscription at $4.99 a month.

Free tiers of AI services can change at any time, which means any workflow built on them rests on someone else's decision. If employees use free Gemini for emails, calculations or document review, the answers they get after October 9 may look different, and nobody will be tracking that.

Find out who in your company uses free AI tools for work and what data goes into them. Anything critical is better moved to a paid or corporate tool with clear terms. Questions about 1C, CRM and bank data are safer in a closed environment like 1Cifer, where access is set by role, than in employees' personal chats.