Gemini leaving users without a plan on Flash-Lite, Google pausing OSS VRP after a flood of automated reports, and AI Overviews on more than 80% of branded searches
Today's 3 verified stories: Google is leaving Gemini app users with no Google AI subscription on Flash-Lite alone from October 9, with usage limits that run on a compute-based system refreshing every 5 hours up to a weekly cap. Since October 1, 2026, Google has stopped taking product vulnerability reports through its open source bug bounty OSS VRP, citing a steep climb in automated submissions, most of them invalid. Ahrefs and DemandSphere, measuring separately, report that AI Overviews appeared on more than 80% of branded Google searches on September 29. The detailed look at each story, its sources and what it means for your business lives on its own page.
Google narrows Gemini app model access: users without a plan keep only Flash-Lite
Google is changing which models personal-account users can reach in the Gemini app from October 2026, according to a page in its Gemini Apps help center. For people with no Google AI subscription the new arrangement starts on October 9, after which they can use Flash-Lite alone. AI Plus covers Flash-Lite and Flash, while AI Pro and AI Ultra cover all three models: Flash-Lite, Flash and Pro. Limits run on a compute-based system that refreshes every 5 hours up to a weekly cap, with AI Plus at twice the standard limit and AI Pro at four times. Image, video and music generation, Deep Research and Deep Think drain it faster.
Google pauses its open source bug bounty after a flood of automated reports
As of October 1, 2026, Google has stopped taking product vulnerability reports through OSS VRP, the program that pays researchers who find security flaws in open source projects run by Google. The company points to a steep climb in automated submissions, most of which turned out to be invalid. Supply chain reports, reports already in the queue and product vulnerabilities sent in before October 1 are not affected. Researchers can still submit fixes to the Patch Rewards Program and report flaws in Google Cloud open source repositories that touch Cloud products through Cloud VRP. Google plans to rework the program and expects to share news on it in Q1 2027.
Two independent datasets agree: AI Overviews now appear on more than 80% of branded Google searches
Two SEO data companies, measuring separately, report that Google sharply increased how often it shows AI Overviews for searches containing a brand name in September 2026. In DemandSphere's data, published October 1, the share stood at 26.12% on September 1, the lasting rise began on September 26, and the rate was 82.06% on September 29. Ahrefs, in an October 2 study drawing on 232.8 million crawls of US desktop Google results, measured 82.91% for the same day. For exact-name searches on 100 brands from Interbrand's list, only five of 98 usable results showed a summary on July 1, against 63 of 100 queries on September 30, and 48 of those sat in position one.
The agenda moves fast, the system stays calm.
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