What is Google AI Studio? Free use, getting an API key, limits, building apps and Turkish support

Google AI Studio is a browser page for developers and enthusiasts who want to work with Gemini models. You type into the chat box to try models, adjust behavior with a "system instruction" (a setting that gives the model a standing role and rules), and get the code for a request you like in one click.

The terms of service describe it as being for "professional or business use by developers", not consumer use. If you want an everyday chat assistant, the same company's consumer app, Gemini, is a better fit.

For everyday chat and an assistant that works with Google products like Gmail and Drive, see the Gemini guide. →

For the Google tool that produces interface designs from a description, see the Stitch guide. →

1. Go to aistudio.google.com and sign in with your Google account; no installation is needed.
2. You must be 18 or older and have verified your age in your Google account. The official page lists these two conditions among the reasons access can be denied.
3. The country or region you live in must be on the supported list. Turkey is on the list.
4. Accept the terms of service. New users get a default project and API key created automatically after accepting the terms.

Official sources don't say whether phone verification or ID is required. You can also sign in with a Google Workspace (work or school) account, but the Starter Tier publishing allowance in Build mode is not given to Workspace accounts. If you can't create an API key on an organization account, the official page says the problem is a missing permission; ask your admin for a role or use a personal Google project not tied to the organization.

!The official page lists region restrictions, the 18+ age requirement and missing age verification in your Google account as reasons AI Studio won't open. No official page says a VPN is a solution; don't try to get around the region rule.

An API key is the secret password your own app or an automation tool (such as Make, n8n or a coding assistant) presents to use Gemini. You get the key from AI Studio for free; how much you can use is still limited by your account's tier.

1. Open aistudio.google.com/apikey. If you are a new user, a default project and key are already created once you accept the terms.
2. If you have another Google Cloud project: in the left panel go to Dashboard, then Projects, and add the project with "Import projects"; then create a new key in that project from the API Keys page.
3. Copy the key. Storing it as an environment variable named GEMINI_API_KEY is recommended; the official client libraries read this variable automatically.
4. Don't write the key into your code, put it in a Git repository, or embed it in a web page or mobile app. A key sitting in code that users can see can be extracted; set up an intermediate layer on your own server instead.

Since May 2026, new keys created in AI Studio are created as "authorization keys" (keys tied to a service account); the Gemini API rejects older unrestricted keys. If a key leaks, first create a new key and switch your app to it, then disable the old one.

!Don't share your key with anyone or paste it into chat windows. When you give a key to a coding assistant or automation tool, check separately how that tool handles your data.

1. Open AI Studio; a new chat prompt is ready.
2. Open the "Run settings" panel at the top right; write the model's role and rules in the "System Instructions" box.
3. Type your question in the message box at the bottom and run it with "Run". If you don't like the answer, change the instruction and try again; the instruction can be changed even after the chat has started.
4. When you are happy with the prompt, get the code in your chosen language with "Get code", or save and share the prompt.

In a chat, every message is resent as part of the prompt. As the conversation grows, the prompt grows and you can hit the model's token limit; for a long task, starting a new chat is cheaper and faster.

In the Run settings panel you also change model settings, safety settings and tools: structured output, function calling, code execution and grounding with search (the model backing its answer with Google Search) are turned on here. On the free tier not all of these tools are guaranteed to be available; the pricing page marks most tools as "not available on the free tier".

!Don't upload documents containing customer data, contracts or personal information on the free tier. On free usage, content may be used for product improvement and human reviewers may read it. Details are in the "Data and privacy" section.

Build mode (aistudio.google.com/apps) builds you a working app when you describe what you want in plain language. A new web app gets a React frontend and a Node.js server side; if you like, you can also choose a native Android app (Kotlin and Jetpack Compose) from the platform selector. A live preview is on the right, and the generated code is in the "Code" tab.

!The official page doesn't say which plan unlocks Android app building. If Android doesn't appear in the platform selector, the source doesn't give the reason; check Google's help pages or Build mode's own warnings. An app can be removed for a policy violation (such as malware, impersonation or hate speech), and repeated violations can lead to loss of access.

AI Studio has many models, and each can be tried separately. You choose the model from the model selector next to the chat. The "Try it in Google AI Studio" links on the pricing page also open with the model name selected (model=… in the URL). The table below is taken from the descriptions on the pricing and model pages.

The model list and prices were taken from the official model, pricing and audio pages on October 14, 2026; they change often. The official page doesn't give model speeds as numbers, so there is no "speed" column.

Yes. Using AI Studio is free; the free tier gives "limited access to certain models" and free input and output tokens. Your request limits are shown in AI Studio based on your account and the model you choose. Official pages list prices in US dollars.

1. To move to the paid tier, click "Set up billing" in AI Studio and choose or create a Cloud billing account.
2. New accounts on the prepaid plan may be asked to load at least $5 of credit (or the equivalent in another currency); some accounts are offered a choice of prepay or postpay.
3. Once billing is linked, Tier 1 starts; as spending and account age grow, you move to Tiers 2 and 3 automatically.

AI Studio usage stays free as long as you don't connect a paid API key. If you connect a key from a paid project, your AI Studio usage with that key is billed too; you can switch between free and paid projects by switching keys.

Price and tier information was taken from the official pricing and billing pages on October 14, 2026. The official source doesn't say whether a tax such as VAT is added; check the amount on the payment screen.

Official pricing page last checked on October 28, 2026.

Limits are counted on three measures: requests per minute (RPM), input tokens per minute (TPM) and requests per day (RPD). Exceeding any one of them returns an error. Limits apply to the project, not the API key; the daily request allowance resets at midnight Pacific time. Limits vary by model and are tighter for preview and experimental models.

The official documentation doesn't give exact per-model numbers: it says "limits are shown on the Rate limit page in AI Studio based on your account" and that "specified limits are not guaranteed". These numbers are only visible after you sign in; check them on your own account.

Moving from free to Tier 1 is usually instant; later upgrades take effect within about 10 minutes. Tier 2 and 3 requirements are based on total Google Cloud spending on the billing account linked to your project. There is an official request form for more quota; an increase is not guaranteed.

!If you hit the spend cap you get a 429 RESOURCE_EXHAUSTED error. Fix: wait a bit, retry, reduce expensive requests. On a prepaid account, if credit drops to 0, all keys of all projects linked to the account stop together with a 402 error; auto-reload is recommended.

Turkish replies, a Turkish interface and Turkish audio are separate topics; official sources cover each separately.

Free and paid tier rules work the same for Turkey; for the European Economic Area, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, paid rules also apply to free usage. Turkey is not one of these three regions.

This is the most important difference: Google handles your prompts differently depending on your tier. The summary below is from the Gemini API Additional Terms of Service; it is not legal advice.

!Don't try work containing customer information, health data, contracts or company secrets on the free tier. Move to a paid, billed project first, or strip the data out.

Source: the official Gemini API Additional Terms of Service. This is not legal advice; for a commercial project, read the full terms.

Google states that it may generate the same or similar content for others; in other words, a model output may not be unique to you. Review generated code yourself before using it.

1. 1Going back to the free tier Disable Cloud billing on the projects you want to move down to the free tier; the project drops to the free tier.
2. 2Prepaid credit Credit you load expires after 12 months and is not refunded. If you switch to a postpay account, the remaining credit is refunded to your payment method. If you close the billing account for another reason, the remaining credit is lost.
3. 3Postpay account Refunds are subject to Google Cloud's refund policy.
4. 4An app you published If you remove a Starter Tier deployment from Build mode, your ai.studio subdomain is released for others to take.
5. 5Google AI Pro / Ultra This subscription is managed separately; the cancellation steps are not in this source. Check the Google AI plans page.

AI Studio is not a chat app; it is a developer workspace. If you want a ready-made assistant, use Gemini, ChatGPT or Claude; if you want to build apps with Gemini models and get an API key, use AI Studio.

GeminiAn everyday chat assistant with the same models; works with Google products.ChatGPTA ready-made chat and agent app; OpenAI's models.ClaudeAnthropic's assistant; for writing and coding.Google StitchA Google tool that produces interface designs from a description.