Gemini user hits 5-hour usage cap after a single prompt, Google responds

Google recently rolled out new compute-based usage limits for its AI plans, changing the way usage quotas are calculated. Instead of a fixed prompt limit, Gemini now uses a credit-style system that takes into account the complexity of prompts, the features being used, and the overall length of conversations.

Under the Google AI Pro plan, these limits refresh every five hours until users eventually hit their broader weekly quota. However, many subscribers say the new system is far more restrictive than before, with one user now reporting that they exhausted their allowance after a single prompt and a few minutes of use.

A frustrated Google AI Pro user recently shared their experience on X, catching the attention of Google’s Gemini lead, Josh Woodward. The user, Ashutosh Shrivastava, claimed he hit Gemini’s five-hour rate limit after just a single prompt using the app’s avatar-based video generation feature. He even posted a video as proof of how quickly he exhausted his usage limit.

“I started with 0% usage on my five-hour limit, then gave one simple prompt for video generation using the avatar feature,” the user wrote. “It ran for around three to four minutes, hit 100% of the rate limit, and the video generation failed as well.”

Woodward later responded to the complaint, saying, “Yikes, let us take a look!”

The incident is the latest example of growing frustration around Gemini’s updated quota system. Before Google introduced compute-based limits, users generally had a more predictable experience with Gemini usage. Now, many users say it’s difficult to tell how much usage a single task will consume.

Complaints have also been piling up on the Gemini subreddit, with users criticizing Google for what many feel are significantly tighter limits compared to the previous experience.

While Google has been increasing Gemini usage quotas for Antigravity users, boosting limits by as much as 9x compared to the immediate post-nerf period, the broader Gemini caps for most regular subscribers still appear unchanged.

It definitely looks like Google is facing increasing pressure to fix its Gemini usage limit problem. While it’s great that the company is actively responding to these complaints, it should either make the new system more transparent, loosen restrictions, or increase usage limits. After all, paying users expect premium AI tools to feel reliable and accessible, not something that a single prompt can drain.