Google has positioned Gemini Spark—its always-on personal AI agent, now integrated as Task mode in the Gemini app—exclusively behind paid tiers since its May 2026 announcement at I/O. The feature requires a Google AI Pro subscription at $19.99 per month or Ultra at $99.99+, with access expanded from initial Ultra-only limits to Pro users in the US and additional markets by late July. Multiple official support pages and recent October 2026 updates confirm it remains unavailable on the free tier or the $4.99 AI Plus plan, even as Google further restricted free users to the Flash-Lite model starting October 9. This reflects a deliberate strategy to gate advanced agentic capabilities, including background task automation and app integrations, behind revenue-generating plans amid broader free-tier model downgrades. Traders monitoring resolution criteria should watch for any policy reversal ahead of key earnings or product events.