ⓘ Google
Even paying users quickly hit their subscription's usage limits with Google's latest AI model. Those who do not want to upgrade to a more expensive plan can get more out of their subscription by accessing it through Google Search.
Bernhard Rotter (translated by Bernhard Rotter), Published 🇩🇪
Google's AI strategy has seemed increasingly rocky in recent months. For example, the company initially announced Gemini 3.5 Pro as a new top-tier AI model, but never released it because of various problems in internal testing. After several months of waiting, Google finally introduced a new frontier model in early October: Gemini 4 Argon.
Initially reserved for Google AI Ultra users (at a hefty €100 per month), it has also been available to Google AI Pro subscribers for the past few days. With a regular price of around €20 per month, this subscription is considerably cheaper and is frequently available at a discount or free of charge to groups such as students or apprentices.
Usage in the Gemini app is severely restricted
Nevertheless, Google continues to face heavy criticism, including on platforms such as Reddit. One reason is that usage of the new model is severely restricted even for paying subscribers. A slightly more complex prompt can easily consume up to 33 percent of the five-hour usage allowance (tested with 4 Argon High on the Pro plan). In other words, the usage allowance is exhausted after just three requests, and the model cannot be used again until five hours have passed.
Of course, resource consumption depends heavily on the thinking effort setting (low/medium/high), the subscription used (Pro or Ultra), and the complexity of the request. Nevertheless, Gemini 4 Argon still tends to exhaust the usage allowance considerably sooner than users are accustomed to with other Pro models.
A "workaround" through Google Search's AI Mode
Google Search's AI Mode offers a way to have longer conversations and complex sessions with Gemini 4 Argon without having to switch to a more expensive subscription. Here, too, paying subscribers can use the plus icon to select various AI models, including 4 Argon. The key difference is that usage here does not count toward the Gemini app's usage limit.
Compared with the Gemini app or website, responses here tend to be somewhat more concise, but are more deeply integrated with Google Search's live index. As a result, web research is generally a little more accurate and up to date. However, AI Mode reaches its limits with more complex programming tasks or projects that require manual adjustment of the thinking effort.
Nevertheless, usage here is not unlimited either, but is restricted by an algorithm or usage counter that is invisible to the user. Once the limits are reached, AI Mode falls back to a smaller AI model.