Google upgrades AI Mode search to Gemini 3.8 Flash for paid subscribers

Google upgraded its AI Mode search feature to use Gemini 3.8 Flash, available immediately to Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers worldwide. Robby Stein, VP of product at Google, announced the release on X and described 3.8 Flash as delivering improvements in software engineering, agentic tasks, and multi-step reasoning compared to the prior 3.7 Flash version. The model can be selected via the (+) icon in the model dropdown menu within AI Mode, with a broader rollout to free users likely coming in the coming weeks or months.