Gemini 3.1 Pro Launches with Enhanced Capabilities Amid Performance Teething Issues

Google has officially launched Gemini 3.1 Pro, the inaugural model in its new Gemini 3.1 series, marking a significant step forward in its generative AI roadmap. Announced on February 19, 2026, the model retains the same pricing structure as Gemini 3 Pro—$2 per million input tokens and $12 per million output tokens for sequences under 200,000 tokens—but introduces notable improvements in reasoning, multimodal understanding, and specialized tool performance, according to Google’s official blog post.

One of the most surprising highlights from the release is the model’s enhanced SVG animation generation capabilities, a feature rarely emphasized in mainstream AI announcements. Early adopters, including developer Simon Willison, tested the model’s ability to render complex visual prompts such as “Generate an SVG of a pelican riding a bicycle.” The resulting image, detailed with a blue-and-white baseball cap, green scarf, and a fish peeking from a basket on the handlebars, demonstrated an unprecedented level of stylistic coherence and anatomical accuracy—including correctly rendered bilateral leg positioning, a common flaw in earlier AI-generated imagery. Willison noted the inclusion of meticulously labeled SVG code segments, such as a path element explicitly annotated as “Black Flight Feathers on Wing Tip,” suggesting Google has embedded deeper interpretive logic into its rendering pipeline.

Despite these technical triumphs, early adopters encountered severe performance bottlenecks. Multiple users reported response times exceeding 100 seconds for simple queries like “hi,” while others received errors such as “Deadline expired before operation could complete” or “This model is currently experiencing high demand.” These issues, while likely temporary, raise questions about Google’s infrastructure readiness for enterprise-scale deployment. The company has acknowledged the volatility, attributing it to “launch-day demand spikes,” but the timing is precarious as enterprises begin integrating Gemini 3.1 Pro into critical workflows.

Adding to the model’s appeal is the introduction of gemini-3.1-pro-preview-customtools, a specialized variant designed to optimize performance when interacting with external APIs and developer tools. According to Google’s AI documentation, this version may outperform the standard model in scenarios requiring multi-step tool use—such as data extraction, code execution, or real-time API chaining—making it particularly valuable for developers building AI-powered automation systems.

While the official announcement focuses on complex reasoning tasks, Google’s broader AI strategy is increasingly intersecting with accessibility and productivity. According to Android Police, Google Docs is receiving a major Gemini-powered upgrade focused on improving accessibility features, including real-time screen reader optimization, contextual captioning for images, and dynamic text simplification for users with cognitive disabilities. This suggests that Gemini 3.1 Pro’s capabilities are not only being deployed for creative or technical tasks but are also being woven into Google’s core productivity suite to serve broader societal needs.

Notably, despite the name’s similarity to the astrological sign, there is no connection to horoscopic content. As reported by Astrology Answers, the term “Gemini” in this context remains purely a product designation, unrelated to zodiacal interpretations. Google’s naming convention continues its tradition of using celestial and mythological terms for AI models, a practice that began with BERT and continued with PaLM and now Gemini.

As developers integrate the new model into tools via updated plugins like LLM-gemini, the real test will be in sustained performance under load. While the pelican-on-a-bicycle image may seem whimsical, it underscores a deeper trend: AI models are now expected to handle not just factual queries, but abstract, imaginative, and visually nuanced requests with precision. For Google, Gemini 3.1 Pro is both a technical milestone and a stress test for its cloud infrastructure—and the world is watching closely.