Google has released an improved version of its Gemini 3 AI. Analysts called it a stock driver

Google has announced Gemini 3 Flash, a more efficient version of its leading artificial intelligence model. It will form the basis for AI output in search and will be available to "millions" of people, the company claims. Google first released Gemini 3 in November: analysts were positive about the Pro model and said it would be a driver for shares in the search engine's holding company, Alphabet.

Gemini 3 Flash combines the features of the "senior" version of Gemini 3 Pro with the Flash models' characteristic query-to-answer time, efficiency and cost, Google said Dec. 17. Starting Wednesday, Gemini 3 Flash will gradually become available to millions of developers and users, including through the Gemini app and AI Mode in search, which shows a brief squeeze of search results.

Google's new model is a more efficient and affordable version of its most powerful artificial intelligence model, Bloomberg noted. The company is thus trying to build on its success after launching Gemini 3 Pro a month ago, the agency said. Gemini 3 Flash is designed to help people more quickly find results for more complex queries, said Robbie Stein, vice president of product at Google Search, according to Bloomberg. For example, the model will be able to show the best evening entertainment for parents with young children, the agency said.

Alphabet's Class A shares fell 3.2% in trading on December 17 and continued to decline another 0.1% in extended trading. The stock fell in tandem with other artificial intelligence-related stocks after the Financial Times reported difficulties in financing Oracle's new data center. This has reignited investor concerns about AI costs.

At the same time, compared to the beginning of 2025, Alphabet shares are now worth 56.5% more. Analysts are mostly positive about the company's securities: 62 out of 74 recommend buying them, 12 recommend holding, while no one thinks it's better to sell them, MarketWatch shows. The average target price is $333.98, suggesting upside potential of about 12% from current levels.

Investor attitudes towards Google have changed significantly over the past few months, with it being seen as a potential "major beneficiary of the full AI stack" and the release of Gemini 3 should bolster investor confidence, William Blair analyst Ralph Shackart said after the AI model was revealed. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff argued that after using Gemini 3, there would be "no going back" to the ChatGPT chatbot that OpenAI created.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced to employees that he was instituting a "code red" regime to urgently improve the quality of chatbot ChatGPT, The Information and The Wall Street Journal reported in early December. According to the WSJ, Altman was particularly concerned about Google.

In December, the European Union launched a probe of Google for "abuse of dominance" in AI training. In addition, Google is expected to receive a fine from EU antitrust authorities next year for failing to comply with EU requirements prohibiting it from favoring its own services and products in search results, Reuters wrote on December 12, citing sources.

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