One of Gemini's best features is now free to everyone

Summary

• Extended Thinking is now available free in Gemini 3.5 Flash/Flash‑lite for deeper, slower reasoning on complex prompts.
• Use Extended Thinking for research, troubleshooting, comparisons, and learning — switch to Standard for simple tasks.
• Toggle Extended per chat and avoid using it for image/video generation to save your daily usage.

Not every question needs an instant answer. Sometimes, it's better to take a moment and think through the problem before responding. That's exactly what Gemini's Extended Thinking does, and now everyone can use it, even without a subscription.

Gemini's smartest upgrade just got easier to access

Extending Thinking is better for some things, worse for others

Google originally introduced its Extended Thinking models as part of its broader push into AI reasoning. Instead of immediately generating a response, Extended Thinking and reasoning models spend additional time working through a problem before answering, which often leads to more accurate and detailed results for complex prompts. There's a lot that goes into how reasoning models work compared to non-reasoning, but the basic gist comes down to how much effort is put forward in the research phase.

The higher-powered reasoning feature can now be enabled when using Gemini 3.5 Flash or Gemini 3.5 Flash-lite, allowing free users to access a tool that was previously associated with premium AI experiences. The difference will be the most noticeable when you're asking Gemini to do more complex things. If you're researching a topic, comparing products, troubleshooting a technical problem, or trying to learn a new skill, then Extended Thinking will give the AI more time to reason through the request before responding. (via Android Authority)

This is the kind of AI feature that should be free

Too many companies hide the best features behind a paywall

One of the biggest reasons this change is exciting is that it gives those without a paid Gemini subscription a chance to see what the AI model is capable of. Since finding the best AI chatbot for your needs can be tough, I think this move opens the door for Gemini to potentially pull in some more people. However, you'll want to be sure you don't squander the usage that you get every day while using it. Because while Extended Thinking can be really useful, it's just not needed for a lot of the functionality you might put into Gemini. That means you'll want to avoid using it on chats that don't actually require deeper reasoning — so if you're just asking Gemini to set up a timer or any other simple thing, be sure you have it set to Standard thinking instead.

To activate and start using Extended Thinking, you first need to access Gemini through the app or on the website. Then, select where it says the current model of Gemini in the bottom right portion of the chat window. Find the Thinking section and then expand it to see Standard and Extended.

Keep in mind that selecting one or the other will leave the option at that for the rest of the chat, so if you don't want to use up all of your usage in one go, make sure to turn off Extended when you no longer need it. I also don't recommend using Extended for generating any images or videos, as both of those functions will eat up your usage pool, too.