Google has unveiled a new free version of its AI-powered code completion and assistance tool, Gemini Code Assist for Individuals. Simultaneously, the company introduced Gemini Code Assist for GitHub, an automated code analysis system designed to detect errors and suggest corrections directly within GitHub.
Gemini Code Assist for Individuals enables developers to interact with AI via a natural language-based chat interface. The tool can debug errors, complete code snippets, and elucidate complex segments. It is powered by a specialized version of the Gemini 2.0 model, fine-tuned for programming tasks. The tool seamlessly integrates with VS Code and JetBrains through plugins and supports multiple programming languages.
One of the tool’s standout advantages is its generous usage limit:
- 180,000 code completions per month—90 times the free tier allowance of GitHub Copilot (2,000 completions).
- 240 chat requests per day, nearly five times the limit of GitHub Copilot.
- A context window of 128,000 tokens, over four times the capacity of competing solutions, allowing the AI to process substantial amounts of code within a single request.
To encourage adoption, Google has opened free public access to the new tool starting February 20.
Meanwhile, Gemini Code Assist for GitHub provides automated pull request analysis, identifying issues and recommending improvements. This strategic move highlights Google’s aggressive push to rival Microsoft and GitHub in the developer tools ecosystem.
Seven months ago, Google recruited Ryan Salva, the former head of GitHub Copilot, to spearhead its AI-driven developer tools division. According to Salva, Google’s strategy is to attract developers early in their careers by offering a powerful tool for free, eventually transitioning them to enterprise-tier plans.
For over a year, Google has offered a business version of Gemini Code Assist, featuring log auditing, integration with Google Cloud, and support for private repositories.
