Using Google Gemini: what you can do for free with ‘Google AI’

Is Google Gemini free? It can be argued that it is both yes and no. While there are paid plans for “Google AI”, also known as “Gemini”, you can access many of the most popular features for free.

You can upgrade to “Gemini AI Pro” at any time, it will cost you (€21.99 for a month). The first month is free. But even without the “Pro” features, the free version of Gemini allows you to do a lot more than you might think.

Google even have a “Gemini AI Ultra” plan, which has more power and cost (€139,99 for a month for 3 months) and later (€274 per month).

So those looking for “free cheese” 🧀 should like this. Without any qualms, let’s take a look at what we can do with such an innovation, which is increasingly penetrating our personal space. Whether you use it or not, it will come with a full power anyway, so you have a little time to decide.

It can be confusing to know which features in Gemini are free and which you have to pay for. Some features, like the innovative “Google Veo 3 AI video generator”, are not currently available to free users.

Between the web, the Gemini app, and Android OS 16, here’s everything you can do for free with Google Gemini.

Generate Images

The image generation works pretty well for a free tool. The AI also handles different art styles – you can specify whether you want something photorealistic, cartoonish, or even painted in the style of a famous artist.

Just note that due to content restrictions, it won’t generate images of real people or inappropriate content. The quality isn’t as good as some other AI image generators.

The image generator for free access may not allow the program to work as quickly as if you had a Pro access. Google doesn’t disclose the details of those limits.

Voice Chat with Gemini

Gemini Live turns your phone into a conversational AI companion that you can talk to, and it’s also free with the Gemini app for iOS and Android.

It includes the ability to share live images and video streams. At the time of writing, Google says Gemini Live is “available to mobile users in over 45 languages and over 150 countries.”

Google says people chat five times longer using Gemini Live compared to text chats, which shows how engaging voice interactions can be.

The free version gives you access to all the basic features, including the ability to share your camera or screen during chats.

This feature also integrates with other “Google apps”, so you can discuss plans and have Gemini automatically create calendar events, or inquire about restaurants and get real-time information from “Google Maps”, making it even more useful.

Deep Research

Deep Research is one of Gemini’s most impressive features, allowing you to get detailed reports on complex topics without having to do all the work yourself.

You give Gemini a research question, and it will spend a few minutes systematically searching the internet, analyzing sources, and putting everything together into a detailed, well-organized report.

Free users can try Deep Research a few times a month, according to Google, while Gemini Advanced subscribers get significantly more access.

Free users also get the basic version powered by Gemini 2.0 Flash, while paid subscribers can access a more powerful version using Gemini 2.5 Pro that produces even more detailed and insightful reports.

Create Gems

Gems 💎 are customized AI assistants that you can create to perform specific tasks. They are essentially Google’s version of ChatGPT’s customized GPTs. Gems are free to create and use without any restrictions.

The competitors like “Open AI”, which charges $20 per month for custom GPTs.

You provide instructions, upload the related files you want it to link to, and you’re good to go. Once you’ve created your gems, they’ll appear in the sidebar and you can interact with them like regular Gemini.

The only limitation is that you can only create and edit Gems on the web, though you can use them on mobile once they’re set up. They also don’t work with Gemini Live yet, but for most tasks, they’re incredibly useful for automating repetitive prompts.

NotebookLM

You can freely upload PDFs, web articles, or files from Google Drive, and it becomes an instant expert on that material, ready to answer questions with citations back to the original sources.

There are usage limits though – you can create up to 100 notebooks, add 50 sources to each notebook, and generate 3 audio overviews per day. That’s enough for most people.

These limits will be largely lifted as you upgrade your plans, although even the paid plans still have limitations.

Android AI

Android devices are full of AI features that work behind the scenes, and you might not even realize that many of them are powered by artificial intelligence.

The “Circle to Search” feature is one of the most useful – just long-press the home button and circle anything on the screen to instantly search for it on Google. This is especially useful for finding items you might want to buy.

There are other features in the “Android AI” system beyond access to Gemini itself. Google Photos has become a hub for AI, with new tools being added regularly.

Magic Eraser lets you remove unwanted objects and people from photos with a simple tap, while Photo Unblur sharpens those frustratingly blurry shots you can’t retake.

Magic Editor goes even further, using generative AI to help you move objects around in photos or change backgrounds entirely. These features were previously locked behind paid subscriptions but are now available to everyone.

Gemini Developer API

Does the “Gemini Developer API” have a free pricing tier? The answer is yes. If you have a Google Developer account, you can create a free Google Gemini API key using “Google AI Studio” (again, if you have access).

The free Gemini API tier gives you limited access to “Gemini 2.5 Pro”, “Gemini 2.5 Flash”, and other models. We should note that with the free tier, Google says that your input and output may be “used to improve our products.”

More Free Gemini Features

Google has integrated free AI tools into a variety of other services and apps. Here are some of the more popular ones:

• Smart compose in Gmail;
• Smart reply suggestions;
• Auto-generated captions;
• Auto-organize in photos;
• Translation integration;
• Spam filtering;
• Virtually try on clothes.

Conclusion

There are more free and limited features of Google Gemini. What is more important or uses more resources is charged at a rate. We believe that in the future there will be more free content in this technology, so always be prepared when Google allows or does not allow you to use their useful features.