Google Adds Gemini 3.8 Flash to AI Mode, Fixes Link Bug

Google unveiled Gemini 3.8 Flash on September 2 and added it to Search's AI Mode model menu the same day. Robby Stein, Google's VP of Search product, wrote on X that "starting today, it's available in AI Mode for Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers worldwide." Search Engine Journal noted that three weeks earlier, the 3.7 Flash launch post did not mention AI Mode, which followed a day later.

The Google blog launch post listed AI Mode alongside the Gemini app and Google Sheets as consumer products where 3.8 Flash is available. Pricing matches 3.7 Flash's introductory rate of $0.75 per million input tokens and $3.75 per million output tokens. Google said this is its third Flash launch in six weeks.

Google also released a security-only model, Gemini 3.8 Flash Cyber, the same day. It is available only to select defense organizations through a newly created program called Fairwind. Google added that 3.7 Flash remains available for tasks where efficiency is the priority.

The model is selected by tapping the "+" icon in AI Mode's "Ask anything" box, choosing between Auto and Pro under "Gemini 3 models." 3.7 Flash does not appear in the screenshot Stein posted. The announcement did not say which model Auto routes to or what languages are supported, and 3.7 Flash had supported English only.

Search Engine Journal cited low latency and cost as the reason Google runs AI Mode on the Flash line. Each generation goes through distillation to produce a production Flash version, the outlet explained.

AI Mode's model history runs from a Gemini 3 Pro option in November 2025, to 3 Flash as default in December, to 3.5 Flash as the worldwide default at I/O in May, to 3.7 Flash added to the menu on August 14, and now 3.8 Flash on September 2. Free users have no model choice and get the default model, and the announcement did not say whether 3.8 will become that default. The AI Mode model menu help page still lists only "Fast" and "Pro."

The Missing Source Links Right After Launch

According to Search Engine Roundtable, Gagan Ghotra posted on X right after launch that several top-of-funnel questions asked using 3.8 Flash returned no links or citations at all. Glenn Gabe confirmed the same behavior with a screenshot placing the default model and 3.8 Flash side by side.

On September 4, Robby Stein replied that "this isn't intended behavior and we'll fix it shortly." The next morning, Glenn Gabe reported that links were back.

Search Engine Journal advised recording which model answered when testing AI Mode citations. A difference between a measurement taken with 3.7 Flash in mid-August and one taken with 3.8 Flash in September could reflect a model change rather than a content change.

In Korea

If Stein's "worldwide" holds, Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers in Korea see the same menu. The fact that 3.7 Flash supported only English still stands, and this announcement said nothing about Korean-language support. Anyone measuring AI Mode citations in Korea should record the model name along with the measurement date.

Source: Search Engine Journal, Matt G. Southern, September 2, 2026. Checked September 5, 2026. Read the original