Gemini 3.8 Live

Gemini 3.8 Live is the default option for most low-latency voice agent experiences and real-time dialogue without reasoning-induced delays. It supports interleaved reasoning, asynchronous function calling, full session client content updates, and built-in audio streaming.

Documentation

Visit the Live API guide for full coverage of features and capabilities.

gemini-3.8-live

Property Description
Model code gemini-3.8-live
Supported data types

Inputs

Text, images, audio, video

Output

Text and audio

Token limits[*]

Input token limit

131,072

Output token limit

65,536

Capabilities

Audio generation

Supported

Caching

Not supported

Code execution

Not supported

File search

Not supported

Function calling

Supported

Grounding with Google Maps

Not supported

Image generation

Not supported

Live API

Supported

Search grounding

Supported

Structured outputs

Not supported

Thinking

Supported (interleaved reasoning)

URL context

Not supported

Consumption options

Batch API

Not supported

Versions
Read the model version patterns for more details.
  • Stable: gemini-3.8-live
Latest update September 2026
Model card Model card

Migrating from Gemini 3.1 Flash Live

Gemini 3.8 Live delivers ultra-low latency audio-to-audio interactions and expands support for asynchronous workflows. When migrating from gemini-3.1-flash-live-preview, review the following updates:

  • Model string: Update your model string from gemini-3.1-flash-live-preview to gemini-3.8-live.
  • Thinking level: thinking_level is not supported for gemini-3.8-live. Omit thinking_level (or thinking_config) from your session setup.
  • Asynchronous function calling: Async execution (behavior: NON_BLOCKING) is now the default function calling mode. You can still use synchronous blocking mode for backwards compatibility by setting behavior: BLOCKING on your tool declarations. Function scheduling (SILENT, WHEN_IDLE, INTERRUPTED) is supported.
  • Client content updates: send_client_content is supported throughout the entire session lifecycle with explicit roles (user or model). Setting turn_complete=true unconditionally interrupts active model generation. If you send content without turn_complete, the server waits for subsequent messages before responding.
  • Proactive audio: Proactive audio is now permanently enabled. Setting proactive_audio: false returns an error.
  • Affective dialogue: Affective dialogue is removed from the API. Remove any enable_affective_dialog configurations from your code.
  • Turn coverage: Defaults to TURN_INCLUDES_AUDIO_ACTIVITY_AND_ALL_VIDEO. Video frames are sent to the model by default, so only send frames when needed to manage context and cost.
  • Response modalities: Audio is the supported response modality. Enable output audio transcription if your application requires a text transcript.

For a feature comparison across all Live API models, see the Model comparison table.