Google’s support documentation explicitly excludes the following regions from Gemini Spark, regardless of subscription tier :
| Region | Likely Reason |
|---|---|
| European Economic Area (EEA) | Regulatory complexity under the EU AI Act, which imposes stricter rules on autonomous agentic AI systems . |
| United Kingdom | Similar post-Brexit regulatory landscape aligning with EEA norms . |
| Switzerland | Regulatory alignment with EEA data governance standards . |
| Nigeria | Reason not explicitly stated by Google . |
Google has not published a firm timeline for bringing Spark to these markets. Multiple outlets report the EEA/UK/Switzerland block is primarily due to compliance hurdles under the EU AI Act, which has specific requirements for AI systems that operate autonomously in the background . The block is not a temporary delay but an explicit exclusion .
At Google I/O 2026, the company cut the entry price of AI Ultra from approximately $250 to $100/month — a 60% reduction . But the bigger news came in July: U.S. Google AI Pro subscribers, who pay $20/month, gained access to Spark .
Here is the current pricing structure for access to Gemini Spark:
Spark remains unavailable to free-tier users and those on the $7.99/month Google AI Plus plan .
On August 10, 2026, Android Authority reported that Google may be planning to discontinue its free Gemini Gems feature on October 20, 2026 . The report is based on a notice discovered behind a feature flag in the Gemini web app’s “Testing Catalog” — not yet visible to users .
Key details from the leak:
Important caveat: Google has not publicly confirmed the retirement. Android Authority and TestingCatalog note the October 20 date comes from an unreleased flag and could change . Google’s public Gemini release notes do not mention the shutdown .
For users outside the excluded regions, Gemini Spark is now significantly cheaper and more widely available than it was just months ago. The $20 Pro tier entry point opens Spark to a much larger audience of power users.
For users in the EEA, UK, Switzerland, and Nigeria, the situation is unchanged: Spark remains blocked regardless of subscription. The EU AI Act’s specific rules on autonomous AI agents appear to be the primary barrier, and Google has not signaled a timeline for compliance or rollout .
For users who have built custom Gemini Gems, the October 20 deadline (if confirmed) means planning ahead. Whether Skills will remain a paid feature or become broadly available before Gems retire is the open question that will determine whether a formerly free feature effectively becomes paid.
Bottom line: Gemini Spark is expanding fast, but its availability, pricing, and the possible end of free Gems all point in the same direction: Google is increasingly positioning its most powerful AI features behind paid subscriptions — and certain regions are being left behind entirely, at least for now.