Gemini 3.5 Flash: Faster AI, 3x Price Hike, New Agent Focus

Google has unveiled Gemini 3.5 Flash, a new AI model that scores 55 on the Intelligence Index, outperforming Claude Sonnet 4.6 and Grok 4.3. It generates output at 284 tokens per second. Here's the thing: while it's faster and more powerful, the pricing has jumped three times, from $0.50/$3 to $1.50/$9 per million tokens. This signals that Google now treats these Flash models as premium products. What's interesting is Google's strategic pivot from chatbots to autonomous agents. They are launching Antigravity 2.0, Gemini Spark, a 24/7 personal AI agent, and Managed Agents in the Gemini API. Gemini 3.5 Flash is now the default AI model across the Gemini app and AI Mode in Google Search. The company plans to release Gemini 3.5 Pro next month, and both models are designed to work together in Google's expanding agent ecosystem. This matters because it shows a significant shift in how AI will interact with users, moving towards more independent and capable systems.