After the introduction of Gemini 3 Pro last month, today Google has unveiled Gemini 3 Flash. This is the faster model, as its name implies. It’s built from the ground up for speed, in fact Google says it feels as fast as a Google search for most prompts.
Gemini 3 Flash is now the default model in the Gemini app – you’re using it if you select “Fast” or “Thinking”. Gemini 3 Pro is used if you pick “Pro” in the app. Google says Gemini 3 Pro is still “the best choice for advanced math and code”, but is confident that Flash will do for everything else.
Of course, Flash is easier on Google’s resources too, and so it makes sense for the company to push it. That said, it is impressively better in benchmarks than its predecessor, Gemini 2.5 Flash, and is on par with OpenAI’s GPT-5.2 in some tests. It even bests Gemini 2.5 Pro while, of course, being significantly faster.
Gemini 3 Flash has also become the default model in Google Search’s AI Mode globally. Thus, Google says AI Mode is now “better at understanding your needs, so you can ask more nuanced questions and it will consider each of your constraints to provide a thoughtful, well-formatted response”.
Gemini 3 Pro makes an appearance in Search too, for people in the US only. To use it you need to select “Thinking with 3 Pro” in the AI Mode model drop-down menu, and you’ll get “in-depth help for your toughest questions, including dynamic visual layouts with interactive tools and simulations”.
Finally, Nano Banana 3 Pro is available in Search too, for people in the US. All you need to do to use it is select “Thinking with 3 Pro” in the AI Mode model picker, and then choose “Create Images Pro”. This all sounds very convoluted – we hope Google will find a way to simplify all of these options in the future.
