The short answer
Gemini is Google's AI assistant, available as an app on the web, Android, iOS, Windows and macOS and inside Gmail and Docs on paid plans. Since 13 October 2026, Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers get Gemini 4 Argon, Google's flagship model. Since 9 October, the free plan sends most prompts to the faster, less capable Flash-Lite. On personal accounts, chats can train Google's models and be read by human reviewers while Keep Activity is on.
| Made by | Google, United States |
|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes: Auto mostly on Flash-Lite, Deep Research, images, Gemini Live, Canvas, Gemini Notebook |
| Models | Gemini 4 Argon and 3.1 Pro (Google AI Pro, Ultra), Flash (Plus and up), Flash-Lite (all) |
| Best at | Working inside Gmail, Docs and Drive, research from your own sources, Deep Research, images and video |
| Shows sources | Yes, in Deep Research and web answers; Gemini Notebook cites your own sources |
| Team plans | Gemini Enterprise (Business edition up to 300 users, Standard and Plus) and Google Workspace |
| Your data | Personal: used for training and human review while Keep Activity is on. Workspace: not reviewed or used for training outside your domain without permission. |
What Gemini is in November 2026
Gemini is Google's AI assistant. You can use it as the Gemini app on the web, Android and iOS, in desktop apps for Windows and macOS, and, on paid plans, inside Gmail, Docs, Vids and other Google apps. Its biggest advantage is simple: it already sits where a lot of people keep their email, files and calendar. On 28 October 2026 Google's chief executive Sundar Pichai said the Gemini app "has reached one billion users", a figure Google did not break down further.
Two changes this autumn decide what Gemini can do for you. First, on 13 October 2026 Google released Gemini 4 Argon, its flagship model for complex, multi-step work in coding, finance, legal and science, to Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers in the Gemini app and in AI Mode in Search. Second, from 9 October free accounts moved to an Auto setting that sends most prompts to Flash-Lite, Google's fastest and cheapest model, with harder prompts sometimes routed to Flash or Pro. Google AI Plus subscribers are losing Gemini 3.1 Pro as well, on a date Google sends each of them by email, and the plans page now lists only the Flash model for Plus.
So the Gemini a free user sees and the Gemini a Pro subscriber sees are very different tools. If you judged Gemini on the free plan this month, you judged Flash-Lite.
Effort levels and limits
Every model can now be set to low, medium or high effort. Higher effort gives more thorough answers but uses more of your limit. Limits are based on compute, not a fixed number of prompts. They refresh every five hours until you reach a weekly limit, and Google AI Plus gets twice the free limits, Google AI Pro four times, and Google AI Ultra either 5x or 20x the Pro limits depending on the tier. Images, video, music, Deep Research, the Pro model and extended thinking all use your limit faster.
What Gemini is best at, with real examples
Working inside Gmail, Docs and Drive
This is the reason to choose Gemini. On Google AI Plus, Gemini appears in Gmail, Vids and other Google apps, and Google AI Pro adds Docs. You can ask it to summarise a long thread in Gmail, draft a reply, pull figures from a file in Drive or rewrite a section of a Doc without copying anything into another tool. If your company runs on Google Workspace, ask your admin whether Gemini is switched on before you pay for anything personally.
Research from your own documents
Gemini Notebook, the product you may know as NotebookLM, was renamed on 16 July 2026. You give it sources such as PDFs, Google Docs, websites or videos, and it answers from those sources. Google says more than 30 million people and over 600,000 organisations use it. Since 23 October you can type @Gemini Notebook in an ordinary Gemini chat to create a notebook, add sources or ask what your notebooks say about a topic. Google's Gemini Notebook help page makes one distinction worth remembering: answers inside the notebook use only your sources, while the same question asked in Gemini chat may also pull in web search. For anything you need to trace back to your own documents, ask inside the notebook.
Deep Research and long reports
Deep Research is included even on the free plan and reads many web pages to write a longer report with sources. Use it for a first map of a market, a regulation or a competitor, then open the sources behind the points you plan to repeat. On Google AI Pro you also get a 1 million token context window, which means you can give it very long documents in one go.
Images and video
Image creation and editing are on every plan, using Google's Nano Banana image models. Video generation starts at Google AI Plus, and Google AI Pro includes a limited trial of Veo 3.1 Lite. If you make social graphics, slide visuals or short clips, Gemini covers more of that work than most chat assistants.
Handing over tasks
Since 13 October, Pro and Ultra subscribers can flip a toggle in the main chat window from chat to tasks. Gemini then keeps working on the task across your Google apps while you are away from your computer. Through Customize, Gemini can also connect to more than 40 apps and services, such as Instacart, OpenTable, Adobe and Shopify, although Google says most connected apps are US and English only for now. For companies, Google Cloud announced the Gemini agent on 8 October as part of Gemini Enterprise, including coworker agents that get their own email address, calendar and Drive.
Where Gemini falls short
- The free plan got weaker. Since 9 October, most free prompts go to Flash-Lite. It is quick, but it is Google's smallest model, so expect weaker results on hard reasoning and long documents than paid users get.
- Google AI Plus no longer includes the Pro model. If you need Gemini 3.1 Pro or Gemini 4 Argon, Google AI Pro is now the minimum.
- Privacy defaults on personal accounts. With Keep Activity on, your chats can train Google's models and some chats are read by human reviewers. See the privacy section below.
- Gems are being retired. If you built Gems, they become read-only on 17 November 2026 and disappear on 17 December for personal accounts. Several Gem tools, including Canvas, Deep Research and Guided Learning, do not work in skills yet.
- Region gaps. Gemini 4 Argon is rolling out globally in the Gemini app, but in AI Mode in Search it is limited to selected countries, and most connected apps are US and English only. Check your own model picker rather than assuming.
- Writing quality. For polished long-form writing, our view is that Claude is usually the stronger choice. Our Claude vs Gemini comparison and ChatGPT vs Gemini go through each kind of work.
How to get better answers from Gemini
- Check which model answered. On the free plan, Auto mostly uses Flash-Lite. On paid plans, pick the model and the effort level on purpose: low effort for quick rewrites, high effort for analysis.
- Point it at your files. Mention the exact Doc, Sheet or email thread. Gemini is at its best when it works from your Google content rather than from memory.
- Use a notebook for anything you must cite. Put the source documents into Gemini Notebook and ask there, so every answer is grounded in your sources only.
- Ask for links and dates. In Deep Research and normal chats, ask for a source and a date beside every claim, and for a note on anything it could not confirm.
- Set the format. Say the length, the audience and the shape, such as "five bullet points for a finance director, under 120 words".
- Save repeat instructions as a skill. Skills, launched on 30 September for users aged 18 and over, are reusable instructions Gemini can run automatically when a prompt matches. They replace Gems.
- Iterate in the same chat. Tell it what to change rather than starting over. The second version is usually better.
Our free Gemini lessons cover these habits with short exercises.
Moving from Gems to skills
For personal Google accounts belonging to adults, Gems become read-only on 17 November 2026 and are removed on 17 December 2026. Google recreates them as skills automatically, keeping the instructions and supported knowledge files. Skills accept up to 100 MB of files, so if a Gem is larger, the biggest files are dropped first. Audio, video, GitHub files, archives such as .zip and old Office formats such as .doc, .xls and .ppt are not carried over. Workspace business, enterprise and non-profit accounts move in March 2027 and education accounts in June 2027. If a Gem matters to you, download its files before 17 December and test the new skill with prompts you already know the answers to.
Gemini privacy settings and where to find them
For personal Google accounts, the setting that matters is Keep Activity in Gemini Apps Activity, at myactivity.google.com/product/gemini. With Keep Activity on, Google uses your activity to provide and improve its services, including training its generative AI models, and human reviewers read some chats. Reviewed chats are kept for up to three years, disconnected from your account, and deleting your activity does not delete chats that were already reviewed. With Keep Activity off, future chats are not used for training unless you send feedback, but Google still keeps them for 72 hours to respond to you and for safety. Temporary chats work the same way: not used for training or human review, but stored for 72 hours.
Work and school accounts are different. Google's Generative AI in Google Workspace Privacy Hub says Workspace content, including Gemini app chats and uploads, is not reviewed by humans or used to train models outside your domain without permission. That is the strongest reason to use Gemini through your company's Workspace account for anything confidential, rather than a personal Gmail account. One practical habit either way: do not paste anything into a personal account that you would not want a reviewer to read.
Which Gemini plan suits whom
| Plan | Pick it if | What you mainly get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | You want quick answers, images and the odd research report | Auto mostly on Flash-Lite, Deep Research, Gemini Live, Canvas, Gemini Notebook, 15 GB storage |
| Google AI Plus | You want Gemini in Gmail on a small budget | Flash model, 2x free limits, video generation, Gemini in Gmail and Vids, 400 GB storage |
| Google AI Pro | You use Gemini for real work most days | Gemini 4 Argon, 3.1 Pro, 4x limits, 1 million token context, Gemini in Gmail and Docs, 5 TB storage |
| Google AI Ultra | You run long tasks or heavy media generation | Highest Argon access, 5x or 20x Pro limits, early features, from 20 TB storage |
| Gemini Enterprise | Your company wants agents and admin control | Business edition for up to 300 users, Standard and Plus editions with advanced security |
Our honest view: Google AI Pro is the plan that makes Gemini a serious work tool, because it is the cheapest way to get Gemini 4 Argon, the Pro model and Gemini in Docs. Google AI Plus is mainly about storage and Gmail help, since Google is removing the Pro model from it. If your employer already pays for Google Workspace, start there, because the privacy terms are stronger. Check current prices on Google's Gemini plans page, and see Gemini alternatives or the best AI for research if you are still choosing.
8 Gemini prompts to copy
Replace the [placeholders]. The Gmail, Drive, Calendar and Docs prompts need those apps connected, or a plan where Gemini works inside them.
Prompts to copy
Catch up on an email thread
Summarise the email thread with [person or company] about [topic] in five lines. Tell me what they are asking me to do, by when, and anything I promised earlier in the thread. Then draft a short reply that confirms [decision].
You get: The ask, the deadline and a reply ready to edit
Pull numbers from a Drive file
Using the spreadsheet [file name] in my Drive, give me total [revenue] by [region] for the last three months, the biggest change month on month and a one-line explanation of what might be behind it. Show the cells or formulas you used.
You get: The figures with the working, without opening the file
Build a research notebook
@Gemini Notebook Create a notebook called [project name] and add these sources: [links or file names]. Then tell me the five main points the sources agree on and two points where they disagree.
You get: A notebook of your sources and a first comparison
Deep Research with dates
Research [topic] for a [job title] in [country]. Cover what changed in the last 12 months, the main options, costs where published and the open risks. Put a source link and its date next to every claim, and list anything you could not confirm.
You get: A dated, sourced report you can check quickly
Rewrite a Doc section for a new reader
Rewrite the section called [heading] in this document for [audience]. Keep every fact, cut it to [150] words, use plain English and end with one clear next step. Then list what you removed so I can check nothing important went.
You get: A shorter section and a list of cuts to review
Plan the week from your calendar
Look at my calendar for next week and my open tasks: [paste list]. Find the three longest free blocks, suggest which task goes in each and flag any day with back to back meetings where I should move something.
You get: A realistic week built around real gaps
Make a slide visual
Create a clean, flat illustration for a presentation slide about [topic]. Use [brand colours], a white background, no text in the image and space on the right for a title. Give me two variations.
You get: Two slide-ready images to choose from
Turn a Gem into a skill
Here are the instructions from my Gem: [paste]. Rewrite them as a skill: one sentence on when it should run, numbered steps, the output format, and three test prompts with what a good answer should contain.
You get: Skill instructions and a test set before Gems disappear