Google's new Gemini 3 Flash AI model launched as the default option both on its own in Gemini and as the engine behind AI Mode in Google Search. Faster than the Gemini 1.5 family it replaces, Google claims the new model carries pretty much all of the power of the larger Gemini 3 models released earlier this year.
Powering AI Mode in Search with Gemini 3 Flash fits with Google's efforts to encourage more people to use the blend of AI chatbot and regular search engine, but raises the question of how it does relative to the more traditional option one tab over.
I put together a non-scientific test of the two to see how they stack up and if Gemini 3 Flash might convince me, or anyone else, to skip over the usual Google search.
