Google Search gives every user Gemini 4 Hydrogen, not only paid subscribers
TLDR
Every Google Search user now gets the Gemini 4 Hydrogen model, priced like Flash, after Pro and Ultra subscribers received the Argon version in AI Mode on October 13.
What this Google Search launch means for your site
- Status
- Available
- Platform
- Google Search
- Affects
- AI Mode, Gemini 4 Hydrogen
- Who
- Google Search users
- Effective
- Not specified in the source
- Action needed
- Not specified in the source
Optimixed Overview
Optimixed's original report on this story.
PPC Land reports that Pro and Ultra subscribers received Argon in AI Mode on October 13, while every Search user now gets Hydrogen, which is priced like Flash. The outlet asks whether its wider fan-out will send more clicks.
How we got here: earlier Google Search coverage
Google's AI Mode in Search moved to Gemini 3.7 Flash for paid Pro and Ultra subscribers on August 14, and then to Gemini 3.8 Flash on September 2. On October 13, Gemini 4 Argon became available through AI Mode to paid subscribers, developers and enterprises, and by October 23 it had reportedly consumed 25 trillion tokens in its first 72 hours. Gemini 4 Carbon came to subscribers in AI Mode on November 10. Now, on November 12, every Google Search user gets Gemini 4 Hydrogen in AI Mode, priced like Flash.
Summary of earlier coverage
- Nov 12Google Says Gemini 4 Hydrogen Is Its Biggest Search Model Upgrade Yet
Google says its Search has received a major upgrade powered by the Gemini 4 Hydrogen model, which it describes as faster with better understanding, query fan-out, linking, and visual responses.
- Oct 23Google's Gemini 4 Argon overwhelms compute infrastructure with 25 trillion tokens consumed in 72 hours
Google's Gemini 4 Argon reportedly consumed 25 trillion tokens in its first 72 hours, straining compute infrastructure as demand runs 3x higher than Gemini 3.
- Oct 13Google adds Gemini 4 Argon model to AI Mode for Pro and Ultra subscribers
Google made its Gemini 4 Argon model available through AI Mode for paid subscribers and to developers and enterprises.
- Sep 2Google upgrades AI Mode search to Gemini 3.8 Flash for paid subscribers
Google has deployed Gemini 3.8 Flash to power AI Mode in Search for paid subscribers, marking a rapid iteration from the previous 3.7 version.