Google quietly downgrades AI Pro plan: here’s what you now get
▼ Summary
– Google reduced its AI Ultra plan price by $50 and introduced a new $100 plan, while imposing stricter usage limits on the AI Pro plan.
– Google switched to a new credit system for the AI Pro plan, with token limits based on prompt complexity, features used, and chat length.
– Users criticized the new system as a “scam,” with one reporting that a single text prompt used 13% of their quota.
– Google will now enforce usage limits in five-hour windows, refreshing until the weekly limit is reached, affecting products like Antigravity and Flow.
– Google discontinued 1,000 free AI credits for Flow but claims user experience won’t change, and usage limits may be altered without notice.
At Google I/O 2026, the company unveiled a $50 price cut for its top-tier AI Ultra plan, but the real story lies in what it quietly did to the Pro tier. While Google touted the new $100 AI Ultra option a middle ground between the original $200 Ultra and the $20 Pro it also slipped in stricter usage limits for lower plans without much fanfare.
Google is transitioning to a credit-based system that determines token consumption based on “the complexity of your prompt, features you use, and the length of the chat.” The company frames this as a more equitable approach, but early reactions suggest otherwise. On Reddit, users are calling the change a “total scam,” with one report showing a single text prompt consuming 13% of a user’s daily quota.
The new policy also introduces five-hour usage windows to cap activity, resetting after each cycle until you hit your weekly maximum. This mirrors Anthropic’s model and extends beyond Gemini to other Google AI products like Antigravity and Flow. It remains unclear whether context windows have been adjusted as well.
Google is also eliminating the 1,000 free AI credits previously offered for Flow, though the company insists the user experience won’t suffer. To monitor consumption, users can check the Usage limit option within Gemini’s settings. While Google hasn’t disclosed exact token or credit numbers for the AI Pro plan, it confirms the allowance is four times that of the free tier.
These changes follow recent testing of weekly limits, which are now official. Google warns that usage limits may be updated without notice, so keeping an eye on your consumption is wise.
(Source: Android Authority)
