Google has overhauled how it measures usage of its Gemini AI apps, switching from counting individual requests to metering computing power consumed by each request. This matters because users can no longer rely on fixed daily limits (such as a set number of image generations); instead, more complex or lengthy prompts, longer videos or advanced models will use up allowances faster, making it harder to predict when limits will be reached.

Usage now depends on the subscription tier, prompt complexity and which Gemini model is selected. In the US, options are the free tier plus AI Plus ($8/month, 2x free limits), AI Pro ($20/month, 4x free limits) and AI Ultra ($100 or $200/month, 5x or 20x Pro limits). Context window sizes also scale by tier, from 32K tokens (around 24,000 words) on the free plan up to a million tokens (around 750,000 words) on Pro and Ultra, while Google warns that limits may shift due to "testing, experimentation or availability."