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# Priority inference

{% callout type="note" %}
  This feature is in [preview](/docs/models#preview).

{% /callout %}

The Gemini Priority API is a premium inference tier designed for
business-critical workloads that require lower latency and the highest
reliability at a premium price point. Priority tier traffic is prioritized above
standard API and Flex tier traffic.

Priority inference is available across the Interactions API endpoints.

## How to use Priority  {% id="how-to-use" %}

To use the Priority tier, set the `service_tier` field in your request to
`priority`. The default tier is standard if the field is omitted.

{% tabs %}
  {% tab label="Python" %}
  ```python
  from google import genai
  
  client = genai.Client()
  
  interaction = client.interactions.create(
      model="gemini-3.8-flash",
      input="Triage this critical customer support ticket immediately.",
      service_tier='priority'
  )
  print(interaction.output_text)
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="JavaScript" %}
  ```javascript
  import { GoogleGenAI } from '@google/genai';
  
  const ai = new GoogleGenAI({});
  
  async function main() {
      const interaction = await ai.interactions.create({
          model: "gemini-3.8-flash",
          input: "Triage this critical customer support ticket immediately.",
          service_tier: "priority"
      });
      console.log(interaction.output_text);
  }
  
  await main();
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="Java" %}
  ```java
  import com.google.genai.Client;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.CreateModelInteraction;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.Interaction;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.InteractionsInput;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.Model;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.ServiceTier;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.operations.CreateInteractionRequestBody;
  
  Client client = new Client();
  
  CreateModelInteraction params =
      CreateModelInteraction.builder()
          .model(Model.of("gemini-3.8-flash"))
          .input(InteractionsInput.of("Perform a priority inference task."))
          .serviceTier(ServiceTier.PRIORITY)
          .build();
  
  Interaction interaction =
      client.interactions.create(CreateInteractionRequestBody.of(params)).interaction().get();
  
  System.out.println(interaction.outputText().orElse(""));
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="Go" %}
  ```go
  package main
  
  import (
      "context"
      "fmt"
      "log"
  
      "google.golang.org/genai"
      "google.golang.org/genai/interactions/models/interactions"
      "google.golang.org/genai/interactions/models/operations"
  )
  
  func main() {
      ctx := context.Background()
      client, err := genai.NewClient(ctx, nil)
      if err != nil {
          log.Fatal(err)
      }
  
      res, err := client.Interactions.Create(ctx, operations.CreateInteractionRequest{
          Body: operations.NewCreateInteractionRequestBody(interactions.CreateModelInteraction{
              Model:       interactions.Model("gemini-3.8-flash"),
              Input:       interactions.NewInteractionsInput("Perform a priority inference task."),
              ServiceTier: interactions.ServiceTierPriority.ToPointer(),
          }),
      })
      if err != nil {
          log.Fatal(err)
      }
      if res.Interaction.OutputText != nil {
          fmt.Println(*res.Interaction.OutputText)
      }
  }
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="REST" %}
  ```shell
  curl -X POST "https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/interactions" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -H "x-goog-api-key: $GEMINI_API_KEY" \
    -H "Api-Revision: 2026-05-20" \
    -d '{
      "model": "gemini-3.8-flash",
      "input": "Triage this critical customer support ticket immediately.",
      "service_tier": "priority"
    }'
  ```

  {% /tab %}

{% /tabs %}

## How Priority inference works  {% id="how-it-works" %}

Priority inference routes requests to high-criticality compute queues, offering
predictable, fast performance for user-facing applications. Its primary
mechanism is a graceful server-side downgrade to standard processing for traffic
that exceeds dynamic limits, ensuring application stability instead of failing
the request.

| Feature | Priority | Standard | Flex | Batch |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| **Pricing** | 75-100% more than Standard | Full price | 50% discount | 50% discount |
| **Latency** | Seconds | Seconds to minutes | Minutes (1-15 min target) | Up to 24 hours |
| **Reliability** | High (Non-sheddable) | High / Medium-high | Best-effort (Sheddable) | High (for throughput) |
| **Interface** | Synchronous | Synchronous | Synchronous | Asynchronous |

### Key benefits  {% id="benefits" %}

*   **Low latency**: Designed for second response times for interactive,
  user-facing AI tools.

*   **High reliability**: Traffic is treated with the highest criticality and is
  strictly non-sheddable.

*   **Graceful degradation**: Traffic spikes exceeding dynamic limits are
  automatically downgraded to the Standard tier for processing instead of failing,
  preventing service outages.

*   **Low friction**: Uses the same synchronous `create` method as the
  standard and Flex tiers.


### Use cases  {% id="use-cases" %}

Priority processing is ideal for business-critical workflows where performance
and reliability are paramount.

*   **Interactive AI applications**: Customer service chatbots and copilots where
  users pay a premium and expect fast, consistent responses.

*   **Real-time decision engines**: Systems requiring highly reliable, low-latency
  outcomes, such as live ticket triaging or fraud detection.

*   **Premium customer features**: Developers who need to guarantee higher service
  level objectives (SLOs) for paying customers.


### Rate limits  {% id="rate-limits" %}

Priority consumption holds its own rate limits even though consumption is
counted towards [overall interactive traffic rate limits](https://aistudio.google.com/rate-limit). The default rate limits
for Priority inference are **0.3x standard rate limit for Model / Tier**

### Graceful downgrade logic  {% id="downgrade" %}

If Priority limits are exceeded due to congestion, overflow requests are
**automatically and gracefully** downgraded to Standard processing instead of
failing with a 503 or 429 error. Downgraded requests are billed at the standard
rate, not the Priority premium rate.

### Client responsibility  {% id="client" %}

*   **Response monitoring**: Developers should monitor the `x-gemini-service-tier`
  header in the API response to detect if requests are being frequently
  downgraded to `standard`.

*   **Retries**: Clients must implement retry logic/exponential backoff for
  standard errors, such as `DEADLINE_EXCEEDED`.


## Pricing  {% id="pricing" %}

Priority inference is priced at 75-100% more than the
[standard API](/docs/pricing) and billed per token.

## Supported models  {% id="supported-models" %}

The following models support Priority inference:

| Model | Priority inference |
| --- | :---: |
| [Gemini 4 Argon](/docs/models/gemini-4-argon) | ✔️ |
| [Gemini 3.8 Flash](/docs/models/gemini-3.8-flash) | ✔️ |
| [Gemini 3.6 Flash](/docs/models/gemini-3.6-flash) | ✔️ |
| [Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite](/docs/models/gemini-3.5-flash-lite) | ✔️ |
| [Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite](/docs/models/gemini-3.1-flash-lite) | ✔️ |
| [Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview](/docs/models/gemini-3.1-pro-preview) | ✔️ |
| [Gemini 3 Flash Preview](/docs/models/gemini-3-flash-preview) | ✔️ |
| [Gemini 2.5 Pro](/docs/models/gemini-2.5-pro) | ✔️ |
| [Gemini 2.5 Flash](/docs/models/gemini-2.5-flash) | ✔️ |
| [Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite](/docs/models/gemini-2.5-flash-lite) | ✔️ |

## What's next  {% id="whats-next" %}

* [Flex inference](/docs/flex-inference) for cost reduction.
* [Tokens](/docs/tokens): Understand tokens.