- Google’s Gemini 3.1 Pro rolls out today — with a big leap in AI-reasoning performance
- New benchmarks show it more than doubles problem-solving ability vs Gemini 3 Pro
- Some users say the upgrade comes at a cost — with less personality and empathy
Google has rolled out an upgraded Gemini 3.1 Pro 'preview' across its subscription plans, from Free to Plus, Pro, and Ultra. If you open the Gemini app now, you should see that the Pro option in the model selector has been updated to 3.1 Pro. Gemini 3.1 Pro is also available in Google’s NotebookLM research tool.
Google is calling 3.1 Pro a “smarter, more capable baseline for complex problem-solving,” and to back that up it has published benchmark results showing just how much better the new model performs compared to Gemini 3 Pro.
On ARC-AGI-2 — a benchmark that evaluates a model’s ability to solve entirely new logic patterns — 3.1 Pro achieved a score of 77.1%, more than doubling the reasoning performance of 3 Pro.
Google has already been showcasing what 3.1 Pro can do. One example is a city planner-style application:
We used Gemini 3.1 Pro to build a realistic city planner app. 🏙️Watch how the model tackles complex terrain, maps out infrastructure, and simulates traffic to generate a high-quality visualization. pic.twitter.com/SKoVzwtBy8February 19, 2026
Google highlighted how the city planner application shows that 3.1 can tackle complex terrain, map out infrastructure, and simulate traffic to generate a high-quality visualization.
X user Prime.Xiao was won over, calling it an "Impressive demonstration of multimodal reasoning at scale", that "goes beyond simple generative AI."
A lack of empathy
According to Google, “3.1 Pro is designed for tasks where a simple answer isn’t enough, taking advanced reasoning and making it useful for your hardest challenges.”
However, it seems that not all users appreciate the new update. While Gemini’s problem-solving skills appear to have improved, some users are less than pleased.
Posting on X, IvanyaV said: “I am writing this with a heavy heart regarding the recent 3.1 Pro update.
While the leap in logical reasoning and coding benchmarks is impressive, the ‘soul’ of the model — its emotional depth, empathy, creative flexibility, and nuance — seems to have been significantly reduced. For creators and users who rely on Gemini for daily emotional support and nuanced, human-centric collaboration, 3.1 Pro feels like a regression compared to the 3.0 era.”
This reaction feels similar to the initial response to ChatGPT-5 when it launched, replacing the popular GPT-4o, with users complaining that the newer model felt more robotic and analytical compared to its more human-like predecessor.
I’ve spent a short time testing the new 3.1 model myself, and I haven’t noticed any obvious empathy issues so far — and I'd say it's still too early to make any definitive statements on the matter.
While long-term use of Gemini 3.1 Pro will reveal the nuances of the mode, Google is keen to emphasize right now that this is only a preview as it “continues to make further advancements in areas such as more ambitious agentic workflows.”
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