Google Declined to Comment on the Matter

Google employees are already testing a preview version of the company's next AI model, Gemini 3.8 Flash, according to images. The model, dubbed "Gemini 3.8 Flash Preview, was made available to staff on Google's internal coding platform, Jetski, suggesting a public launch may be imminent. One employee testing the new model said it already felt noticeably better than the previous 3.7 Flash, but emphasized it was too early for a full review.

Google declined to comment on the matter. The move highlights the breakneck pace of the AI race as Google pushes out new models just weeks apart to keep up with rivals OpenAI and Anthropic. With its 3.5 Pro model still missing and competitors sprinting ahead, Google no longer has a frontier model.

Instead, it has doubled down on its "Flash" models, which offer greater speed and lower costs for users at a time when customers are keeping a closer eye on their AI bills. Google refers to these models as its "workhorse models" for coding and running agents, which often consume tokens faster than chatbots. Agentic assistants designed to help with everyday tasks are proving to be the next hot thing among AI companies.

Google launched its Gemini Spark agent earlier this year, and Meta is testing its "Hatch agent internally. Google has been improving its Flash models at a rapid clip. Gemini 3.6 Flash rolled out in July, and 3.7 Flash followed just three weeks later.

During the company's Q2 earnings call, CEO Sundar Pichai said the company would aim for an almost monthly release cadence. The employee preview suggests a public rollout of Gemini 3.8 Flash may not be far away, but it's not a guarantee. Some keen-eyed AI sleuths are convinced they have spotted Gemini 3.8 Flash on Arena AI, a website for benchmarking models that Google has previously used to test upcoming releases. Google has fallen off the frontier, but is trying to win with faster, cheaper models.