Standard is fast. Extended is slow. But sometimes you need the slow one. Google is rolling out a new “Thinking level” option in the Gemini app for early testers. It works with Gemini 3 Flash and Gemini 3.1 Pro basically gives users a choice. Standard mode for quick answers. Extended mode for the hard stuff.
It mirrors the controls already in Google AI Studio. Now regular folks get access. Extended mode takes its time. It digs deeper. Good for complex problems that need actual processing power not just a surface-level skim.
The app roster is growing too. You probably already know GitHub. OpenStax. Spotify. WhatsApp. They work with Gemini. Now Canva is coming. So is Instacart. OpenTable joins the club too. The docs leaked early via 9to5Google. Nothing live yet but the evidence is there.
Imagine asking for a design in Canva just by talking. Done. Or dropping a recipe link into the chat and having Instacart auto-fill your cart with the ingredients. That is the pitch. OpenTable does something similar but with food at other people’s places. Search book reserve. Hand that reservation straight to your Google Calendar without leaving the chat.
All of this happens before Google’s I/O conference tomorrow. That timing is no accident.
Is Google done with the simple chatbot phase? Probably. This looks like a pivot toward agentic AI. Where the tool acts instead of just talking. We’ll see. The ball is rolling.
