Google preparing to introduce a credit system for Gemini

Signs that Google is planning to add a credit-based usage system to the Gemini app have been spotted in the latest build strings. Instead of the current setup of fixed prompt limits and time limits by subscription tier, the likely structure is one where monthly-issued credits are spent across models and features, with additional top-ups available when they run out.

Google already runs the same credit mechanism in Flow, Whisk, and Antigravity, and offers additional top-ups to AI Pro and AI Ultra members. If this extends to Gemini, budget management for the following high-cost tasks would become more predictable.

• agentic tasks
• Deep Research
• Deep Think
• long multimodal sessions

A dedicated images section marked NEW has also newly appeared in the web UI. Recalling how Google experimented with image features via Whisk and ImageFX in late 2024 before converging on Flow, this section could simply be a generation home, or it could be a signal of an editor that bundles Nano Banana 2 and Nano Banana Pro with canvas-style tools.

Google is absorbing developer program benefits into AI Pro and AI Ultra, and linking consumer subscriptions with AI Studio credits, unifying the payment structure. A shared credit pool spanning Gemini, AI Studio, Antigravity, Flow, and the image editor appears to be the next step, with Google I/O on May 19-20 looking like the likely reveal point.