Google LLC said today that its Gemini AI chatbot is being updated with support for Gemini 1.5 Flash, a lightweight large language model that’s designed to compete with OpenAI’s GPT-4o mini.

Gemini 1.5 Flash is being made accessible to all users, regardless of their subscription level. With the update, Google said, users will see “across-the-board” improvements with regards to the quality of Gemini AI’s response quality and the speed at which it delivers those responses. They’ll also notice improvements in its reasoning and image understanding capabilities, it promised.

Google first showcased Gemini 1.5 Flash during its Google I/O 2024 event in May and made it available to some paying customers shortly after. It’s now landing in the free version of the Gemini mobile app, and also the freely accessible web interface at gemini.google.com.

The enhanced capabilities of Gemini 1.5 Flash stem from a massive boost in token size. It now supports 32,000 tokens, four times more than the original version of the artificial intelligence model that debuted in May. The increased number of tokens in Gemini 1.5 Flash means it can handle longer, more complex prompts and deliver better responses, the company said.

“That means you can have longer back-and-forth conversations and ask Gemini more complex questions — all free of charge,” Amar Subramanya, vice president of engineering for Gemini Experiences, said in a blog post.

In addition, Subramanya said, users will soon be able to upload files to the free version of its Gemini AI chatbot, which was previously possible only in the paid version. Uploading files is done to support contextual prompts. For instance, it’s possible to upload an image and ask the model questions about it, or feed it an economics study guide and ask the model to create practice questions.

Another soon-to-launch feature will enable Gemini to analyze data files and create visualizations and charts based on them.

Subramanya said Google is also taking steps to reduce AI hallucinations, which is the term used to describe nonsensical or inaccurate responses. To do this, Gemini will provide citations to all of its responses, linking to all of the source materials it used. So if the model comes up with a questionable response, users will be able to explore that source and try to establish the validity of its claims by themselves. Subramanya said these citations will even extend to those using the Gmail extension, which makes it possible to ask Gemini questions pertaining to their email inboxes.

The Gemini chatbot is also being added to Google Messages in the European Economic Area, the U.K. and Switzerland. Users will be able to select “Start chat” within the Messages app and select “Gemini” and immediately start interacting with the chatbot.

Finally, Google said it will allow teenagers as young as 13 to start using Gemini. According to Subramanya, teens who have a Google Account can safely use Gemini as a research tool, as the company has worked with child safety organizations to implement new policies and safeguards against misuse.

Image: Google