AI thinking for itself still sounds like fiction, but the Google’s Gemini 2.5 is designed to do exactly that. The thinking model uses a process similar to humans to reason through possible answers before responding. Google’s thinking models are a smarter form of AI that are capable of advanced reasoning. They’ll even show you their process of how they analyze your queries and arrive at an answer.
I tried out Google’s latest Gemini 2.5, which Google considers to be the most intelligent of their AI models so far. While Gemini 2.0 answered the query “what makes Gemini great?” in just a few seconds and provided a short answer, Gemini 2.5 gave me detailed steps of the thinking process. The process did take over a minute to complete, but as a free user, slower speeds are just a trade-off.
Part of the thinking process was telling me where Gemini was searching for data. My query was about Gemini itself, so in number 3, the AI model informed me “I have internal knowledge about my design, capabilities, and intended strengths.” This let me know Gemini was pulling from internal sources.
Essentially, thinking models intend to replicate human’s logical thought processes as closely as possible. Though, AI is still limited.
Gemini 2.5 Builds Upon 2.0
Gemini 2.0 offers more general answers, though it’s still an impressive AI model. With Gemini 2.5, which was released in March 2025, Google built upon the 2.0 base model with improved post-training. The goal was to create a AI agents that can better understand context and won’t get bogged down by complex queries.
What does this mean for you? Likely, you’ll need fewer prompts to get the answers you need. By taking time to analyze the context of your query, Gemini can now offer advanced answers the first time, leading to fewer prompts to clarify what you need.
Google Offers Latest Gemini Model for Free
In a move that shocked most users, Google’s latest Gemini 2.5 is free to all users. It initially released to premium users only, but about a week later, it was released to everyone.
Currently, everyone has access to Gemini 2.5 Pro (experimental). Why is this so surprising? It was ranked as number one on LMArena, which ranks AI models. It just nudged ChatGPT-4o into second place.
But, there are some restrictions. After all, Google needs to give users a reason to pay for premium access. The most notable limitation is speed. While 2.5 is slower than 2.0 due to its complex reasoning abilities, free users will notice even slower responses.
Gemini Advanced (premium version) offers have a larger context window, aka more intelligent version. There are also tighter rate limits. Don’t expect to send rapid fire queries in the free version. For heavy users, you’ll want to upgrade. The good thing is Google is offering a one-month free trial, then it’s $19.99/month after. For the average user, the free version is probably all you’ll need.
Making the Switch
I gave Gemini 2.5 a test run myself just to see the difference. Gemini 2.0 felt more like a child’s toy in comparison. For example, in my test asking “what makes Gemini great,” 2.0 gave me a 174 answer with four general bullet points. Despite multiple follow-up queries, I still never got the in-depth answer I received with 2.5.
With Gemini 2.5, I did have to wait longer, but I saved time by not having to deal with follow-up queries. The answer was over twice as long at 393 words with eight numbered reasons.
Overall, 2.5’s answer was far more comprehensive. This shows a major upgrade just from 2.0.
Accessing 2.5 Yourself
You don’t need to install anything extra to start trying out Gemini 2.5 yourself. If you’re using the web version, log in and select Gemini 2.5 Pro (experimental) from the drop-down list at the top.
For now, you’ll have to stick with the web version. Google hasn’t made it available in the mobile app just yet. However, keep checking, as it will likely be available soon
Of course, on mobile devices, just open your favorite browser and navigate to Gemini’s site. Sign in and you’ll have access to 2.5. This is also a great way to try out Gemini if you’ve changed your default digital assistant on Android.
Keep in mind this is still the experimental version, so there could be hiccups. The full 2.5 Pro version is only available to Gemini Advanced users. Though, if you want to get even more out of Gemini, check out these extensions for improved AI integration between apps.
Image credit: Unsplash
