Google has added Gemini 4 Argon to the AI Mode model menu for Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers. The rollout comes on the same day the model became available to developers, enterprises, and Gemini app users.
Robby Stein, VP of Product for Google Search, announced the rollout on X, saying Argon “is now rolling out globally in Search” and that subscribers can switch to it using the “+” icon.
Google’s first Argon announcement, 13 days ago, didn’t mention Pro subscribers. Today’s launch post lists them alongside Ultra subscribers, but nothing announced today changes the default for free-tier AI Mode users.
What Changed
You can pick Argon from the “+” icon in AI Mode’s “Ask anything” bar, the same menu that added 3.7 Flash in August and 3.8 Flash in September.
Stein says Argon “brings big improvements to tackling nuanced, multi-step tasks in AI Mode” and is “better at understanding your intent and following your instructions in back and forth conversations.” The launch post makes a similar claim for the model as a whole, saying it “follows style instructions better than any of our previous Gemini models.”
Neither post states a language. The 3.7 Flash rollout was English only.
Since it’s rolling out, it may not be available to everyone just yet. As of 12:17 p.m. ET, Argon hadn’t appeared in the menu on my own Pro account.
From Fairwind To Pro Subscribers
Google introduced Argon on Sept. 30 as a frontier model for coding, enterprise knowledge work, and cyber defense, and released it to “a set of trusted cyber defenders” through its Fairwind Program. That post said the release to developers, enterprises, and consumers would come “as soon as possible” and would start “with paid API customers and Google AI Ultra subscribers.”
Today’s post brings all the groups together at once. Developers can access it through the Gemini API’s paid tier, Ultra subscribers can use it in Google Antigravity, Google’s coding tool, and Pro and Ultra subscribers can find it in the Gemini app and AI Mode.
Background
Gemini 3 Pro became available as an option in AI Mode in November. Since then, every addition to the menu I covered has been a Flash model. Gemini 3 Flash became the default in December, Gemini 3.5 Flash took over as the global default at I/O in May, Gemini 3.7 Flash joined the menu on Aug. 14, and 3.8 Flash followed on Sept. 2.
In February, I covered Google’s reasoning for running AI Mode on Flash models, which cost less and respond faster, so they can run at Search scale.
Google’s support page for AI Mode’s model menu, read today, still names only “Pro” and “Fast” as options and describes the Pro option as Gemini 3 Pro. It read the same way on Aug. 14 and Sept. 2.
Why This Matters
Argon is available by subscription only, just like the two Flash models that joined the menu before it.
The improvements Google describes involve multi-step tasks and back-and-forth conversations, so a multi-step task with follow-up questions is the best way to test the claim. Once Argon appears in your menu, and if 3.8 Flash is still listed alongside it, try the same sequence with both models and note which one answers each time.
Looking Ahead
The next question is whether Argon will remain a subscriber option or become the default in AI Mode. Gemini 3 Flash and 3.5 Flash both launched as the default, while Gemini 3 Pro launched as an option and has remained one. Neither Google’s launch post nor Stein’s X post clarifies which direction Argon will take.
The launch post wraps up by saying it’s looking forward to “bringing you the rest of the Gemini 4 family,” but it doesn’t specify which of those models will be available in AI Mode.
