# Google launches Gemini 3.8 Live and Extended Thinking voice models

Digest AI · Generative AI & Models · published 2026-09-15T17:05:57Z · updated 2026-09-17T13:02:21Z

Canonical: https://digestai.news/story/google-deepmind-launches-gemini-3-8-live-and-3-8-live-extended-thinking-models

## Summary

Google announced on September 15, 2026 the release of two speech‑to‑speech models—Gemini 3.8 Live and Gemini 3.8 Live Extended Thinking—designed for real‑time voice agents. The models support near‑real‑time visual grounding, automatic detection of 97 languages, and background tool or API calls that keep the conversation flowing. Gemini 3.8 Live Extended Thinking topped Artificial Analysis’ Speech‑to‑Speech Quality Index with a score of 82.6 and led on τ‑Voice (68.6%), Sierra’s τ‑Voice‑banking (35.1%) and Big Bench Audio (97.7%). Google listed partners such as Agora, Fishjam, LiveKit, Pipecat, Vercel and Vision Agents, and noted that all generated audio carries a SynthID watermark.

Marktechpost alone provided pricing details of $0.005 per minute of audio input and $0.018 per minute of audio output, and added LangChain to the partner list. Socialmediaexaminer was the only source to mention a dedicated Windows 10/11 desktop app accessed via Alt + Space and to highlight additional Gemini features called Nano Banana and Gemini Omni. The ServiceNow EVA‑Bench benchmark was reported only by unite.ai.

## Key points

- Google released Gemini 3.8 Live and Gemini 3.8 Live Extended Thinking on Sep 15 2026 for real‑time speech‑to‑speech voice agents.
- Extended Thinking topped Artificial Analysis’ Speech‑to‑Speech Quality Index with 82.6 and scored 68.6% τ‑Voice, 35.1% τ‑Voice‑banking, 97.7% Big Bench Audio.
- Marktechpost reports pricing of $0.005/min input and $0.018/min output; Socialmediaexaminer alone notes a Windows desktop app and Nano Banana/Gemini Omni features.

## Why it matters

The models bring near‑real‑time, multilingual voice interaction with background tool execution, enabling more natural AI assistants for enterprises and developers and setting new performance benchmarks in the voice‑agent market.

## Sources

1. [Introducing Gemini 3.8 Live and 3.8 Live Extended Thinking](https://deepmind.google/blog/introducing-gemini-3-8-live-and-3-8-live-extended-thinking) (Google DeepMind, 2026-09-15, primary source)
2. [New home for Cowork](https://bensbites.com/p/new-home-for-cowork) (Ben's Bites, 2026-09-17)
3. [Creating AI Image Libraries, Showing Up in AI Results, and Industry News](https://socialmediaexaminer.com/creating-ai-image-libraries-showing-up-in-ai-results-and-industry-news) (Social Media Examiner, 2026-09-17)
4. [Gemini Live audio](https://simonwillison.net/2026/Sep/15/gemini-live) (Simon Willison, 2026-09-15)
5. [Google Releases Gemini 3.8 Live and 3.8 Live Extended Thinking for Production Grade Voice Agents](https://marktechpost.com/2026/09/15/google-releases-gemini-3-8-live-and-3-8-live-extended-thinking-for-production-grade-voice-agents) (MarkTechPost, 2026-09-15)
6. [Google launches Gemini 3.8 Live to take on OpenAI's GPT-Live-1 at a fraction of the cost](https://the-decoder.com/google-launches-gemini-3-8-live-to-take-on-openais-gpt-live-1-at-a-fraction-of-the-cost) (The Decoder, 2026-09-15)
7. [Google Launches Gemini 3.8 Live and Extended Thinking Voice Models](https://unite.ai/google-launches-gemini-3-8-live-and-extended-thinking-voice-models) (Unite.AI, 2026-09-15)

Part of the developing story: [Google's Gemini 3.8 Voice Model Saga](https://digestai.news/thread/google-deepmind-launches-gemini-3-8-live-and-3-8-live-extended-thinking-models) (4 stories)

## Cite

Digest AI, "Google launches Gemini 3.8 Live and Extended Thinking voice models", 15 September 2026, https://digestai.news/story/google-deepmind-launches-gemini-3-8-live-and-3-8-live-extended-thinking-models

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