Gemini 3.8 Live
A real-time conversational AI model released by Google, targeting large-scale and cost-efficient deployment scenarios. It integrates conversational intelligence, voice interaction, and visual understanding capabilities, supports automatic switching across 97 languages, and can execute tool calls in the background while maintaining conversational continuity.
Core Facts
The Extended Thinking version of Gemini 3.8 Live incorporates a more thorough thinking process before voice responses, making it suitable for complex reasoning scenarios, while the standard version places greater emphasis on response speed.
Google launched two real-time conversational models, Gemini 3.8 Live and Gemini 3.8 Live Extended Thinking.
Timeline (last 90 days)
Currently, publicly available information about Gemini 3.8 Live comes only from a single official teaser tweet, lacking technical details, performance benchmarks, context length, supported platforms, and pricing information.
Google officially announced a teaser for Gemini 3.8 Live in the form of a long tweet thread (🧵).
Google released Gemini 3.8 Live with a Live Avatar feature, introducing near-real-time visual rendering capabilities.
Google adopts a per-minute pricing model for these two models rather than per-token pricing.
Both models support background tool execution, allowing external tools to be called while a conversation is in progress without interrupting the audio stream.
Gemini 3.8 Live's Speech-to-Speech Index score is 76.0, with a first audio output latency of only 1.18 seconds.
Scenarios prioritizing real-time performance (customer service, voice assistants, real-time translation) should favor Gemini 3.8 Live, while scenarios prioritizing accuracy (complex consulting, educational tutoring, multi-step tasks) should choose the Extended Thinking version.
Developers can access these two models through the Live API.
Gemini 3.8 Live's input audio cost is $0.84 per hour
In the Arkham Banking benchmark, Gemini 3.8 Live with Extended Thinking mode enabled scored 35.1%, ranking first
12 more timeline events
All Facts (13)
The Extended Thinking version of Gemini 3.8 Live incorporates a more thorough thinking process before voice responses, making it suitable for complex reasoning scenarios, while the standard version places greater emphasis on response speed.
75%VerifiedGoogle launched two real-time conversational models, Gemini 3.8 Live and Gemini 3.8 Live Extended Thinking.
90%UnverifiedDevelopers can access these two models through the Live API.
50%UnverifiedBoth models support background tool execution, allowing external tools to be called while a conversation is in progress without interrupting the audio stream.
50%UnverifiedGoogle adopts a per-minute pricing model for these two models rather than per-token pricing.
50%UnverifiedScenarios prioritizing real-time performance (customer service, voice assistants, real-time translation) should favor Gemini 3.8 Live, while scenarios prioritizing accuracy (complex consulting, educational tutoring, multi-step tasks) should choose the Extended Thinking version.
50%UnverifiedGemini Live's WebSocket endpoint uses the BidiGenerateContent (bidirectional content generation) method, establishing a persistent bidirectional audio stream between the client and the model.
50%UnverifiedThe browser-based demo interface supports selecting models, switching voice presets, filling in system prompts, initiating voice conversations, and interrupting the model while it is speaking.
50%UnverifiedGoogle officially provides a Gemini Live WebSocket tutorial as a starting reference for developer integration.
50%UnverifiedThe model can execute tool calls and API requests in the background while keeping the conversation going, using an acknowledge-and-continue non-blocking confirmation mechanism.
50%UnverifiedGemini 3.8 Live targets scale and cost-efficiency scenarios, combining conversational intelligence, voice interaction, and visual understanding.
50%UnverifiedGoogle released Gemini 3.8 Live with a Live Avatar feature, introducing near-real-time visual rendering capabilities.
70%UnverifiedSimon Willison conducted a quick hands-on test of Gemini 3.8 Live and built a web interface for trying it out in the browser.
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