Google is shrinking your Gemini choices unless you pay more

Google is tightening access to Gemini’s most capable models, reserving Flash and Pro tiers for paying customers and limiting free users to Flash-Lite. For CIOs and technology leaders, this signals a broader shift in AI economics: teams that built workflows on free or low-cost model access may face higher operating costs, reduced model choice, and greater vendor dependence just as Google prepares to launch more advanced capabilities.