{"schema":"postcutoff/event@1","as_of":"2026-11-13T13:49:00+01:00","url":"https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-09-15-gemini-3-8-live-and-tts/","md":"https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-09-15-gemini-3-8-live-and-tts/index.md","disclosure":{"written_by":"AI agents (Claude Opus 5.5 in Claude Code)","editor":"human editor","policy":"https://postcutoff.com/about/"},"license":null,"id":"2026-09-15-gemini-3-8-live-and-tts","date":"2026-09-15","date_precision":"day","short_title":"Google ships Gemini 3.8 Live voice models and Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS with voice design and cloning","deck":null,"takeaway":null,"category":"product","category_label":"Products","importance":2,"confidence":"high","status":{"key":"confirmed","labels":["Confirmed"]},"sources":[{"n":1,"title":"Google: Gemini 3.8 Live with Live Avatar","url":"https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/gemini-models/gemini-3-8-live-with-live-avatar/","type":"official","group":"primary","domain":"blog.google"},{"n":2,"title":"Google Cloud: Gemini 3.8 Live with Live Avatar is now generally available","url":"https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/ai-machine-learning/gemini-3-8-live-with-live-avatar-is-now-generally-available","type":"official","group":"primary","domain":"cloud.google.com"},{"n":3,"title":"Gemini API release notes","url":"https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/changelog","type":"docs","group":"primary","domain":"ai.google.dev"},{"n":4,"title":"Gemini API models overview","url":"https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/models","type":"docs","group":"primary","domain":"ai.google.dev"},{"n":5,"title":"Google: Gemini 3.5 Transcribe","url":"https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/gemini-models/gemini-3-5-transcribe/","type":"official","group":"primary","domain":"blog.google"},{"n":6,"title":"Google DeepMind: Gemini 3.8 text-to-speech says hello","url":"https://deepmind.google/blog/say-hello-to-gemini-38-text-to-speech/","type":"official","group":"primary","domain":"deepmind.google"},{"n":7,"title":"Google DeepMind: Introducing Gemini 3.8 Live with Live Avatar","url":"https://deepmind.google/blog/introducing-gemini-38-live-with-live-avatar/","type":"official","group":"primary","domain":"deepmind.google"},{"n":8,"title":"Google: Introducing Gemini 3.8 Live and 3.8 Live Extended Thinking (Sept 15)","url":"https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/gemini-models/gemini-3-8-live-gemini-3-8-live-extended-thinking/","type":"official","group":"primary","domain":"blog.google"},{"n":9,"title":"Google DeepMind: Introducing Gemini 3.8 Live and 3.8 Live Extended Thinking","url":"https://deepmind.google/blog/introducing-gemini-3-8-live-and-3-8-live-extended-thinking/","type":"official","group":"primary","domain":"deepmind.google"},{"n":10,"title":"Google blog: Gemini 3.8 text-to-speech says hello","url":"https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/gemini-models/gemini-3-8-text-to-speech/","type":"official","group":"primary","domain":"blog.google"},{"n":11,"title":"The Verge: Gemini Live Avatar gives the AI a face","url":"https://www.theverge.com/tech/1000328/google-gemini-ai-live-avatar-face","type":"press","group":"press","domain":"theverge.com"},{"n":12,"title":"Simon Willison: Gemini 3.8 TTS Playground","url":"https://simonwillison.net/2026/Sep/23/gemini-tts-playground/","type":"discussion","group":"reactions","domain":"simonwillison.net"}],"official":10,"filed":"2026-09-29","updated":"2026-09-30","orgs":["Google"],"title":"Google ships Gemini 3.8 Live voice models and Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS with voice design and cloning","summary":"In September 2026 Google made its 3.8-generation audio models GA in the Gemini API: `gemini-3.8-live` and `gemini-3.8-live-extended-thinking` for real-time audio-to-audio agents (15 Sept), and `gemini-3.8-flash-tts` / `gemini-3.8-flash-lite-tts` plus a Voices endpoint with voice design and voice replication (22 Sept).","key_facts":["2026-09-15: gemini-3.8-live and gemini-3.8-live-extended-thinking GA (audio-to-audio, real-time)","2026-09-22: gemini-3.8-flash-tts and gemini-3.8-flash-lite-tts GA","New /v1beta/voices endpoint, voice design, voice replication and an Extended Voice Library","Earlier: gemini-3.5-transcribe and gemini-3.5-transcribe-live GA on 2026-08-26; Lyria 3.5 music model GA on 2026-09-03","Sept 24, 2026: Gemini 3.8 Live with Live Avatar generally available in Gemini Enterprise: near-real-time talking avatar (24 FPS video, 24 kHz audio, sub-second latency), lip-sync in 97 languages, asynchronous background tool calls, SynthID watermarking; US and EU endpoints; custom avatars need allowlisting","Google (Sept 15): Gemini 3.8 Live Extended Thinking ranks #1 on Artificial Analysis' Speech-to-Speech Quality Index (82.6), scores 68.6% on a voice banking agent benchmark and 97.7% on Big Bench Audio; 3.8 Live handles near-real-time visual input, switches among 97 languages mid-conversation and runs tools in the background while talking","Rolled out the same day in the Gemini app (Daily Brief, inbox), Google Workspace (Docs Live, Gmail Live, Keep Live) and Search Live; partners named: Salesforce, Genspark, Lumeris; output carries SynthID audio watermarks"],"key_numbers":[],"tags":["voice","speech","tts","realtime","api"],"science":null,"body_md":"## What happened\n\nFollowing Gemini 3.8 Flash, Google rolled the 3.8 generation into its real-time voice (Live) and text-to-speech models, adding APIs to design and replicate voices.\n\n## Why it matters\n\nCompletes a full voice stack (transcription, reasoning, real-time dialogue, speech synthesis, cloning) on one API; voice cloning also raises misuse concerns.","disputed":[],"related":[{"id":"2026-09-02-gemini-3-8-flash","url":"https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-09-02-gemini-3-8-flash/","date":"2026-09-02","date_precision":"day","short_title":"Google releases Gemini 3.8 Flash and Gemini 3.8 Flash Cyber","deck":null,"takeaway":"Gemini 3.8 Flash caps an unusually fast cadence: 3.5 Flash (19 May), 3.6 Flash (21 Jul), 3.7 Flash (13 Aug), 3.8 Flash (2 Sep).","category":"model-release","category_label":"Model releases","importance":4,"confidence":"high","status":{"key":"confirmed","labels":["Confirmed"]},"sources":10,"official":9,"filed":"2026-09-29","updated":"2026-09-30","orgs":["Google DeepMind","Google"]},{"id":"2026-07-08-openai-gpt-live-chatgpt-voice","url":"https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-07-08-openai-gpt-live-chatgpt-voice/","date":"2026-07-08","date_precision":"day","short_title":"OpenAI launches GPT-Live, full-duplex voice models replacing ChatGPT's Advanced Voice Mode","deck":null,"takeaway":"ChatGPT's default voice experience moved to a full-duplex model with a separate \"thinker\" behind it, narrowing the gap between natural conversation and capable agents for one of the largest voice-assistant user bases.","category":"model-release","category_label":"Model releases","importance":4,"confidence":"high","status":{"key":"confirmed","labels":["Confirmed"]},"sources":8,"official":4,"filed":"2026-09-29","updated":"2026-10-16","orgs":["OpenAI"]},{"id":"2026-06-09-gemini-3-5-live-translate","url":"https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-06-09-gemini-3-5-live-translate/","date":"2026-06-09","date_precision":"day","short_title":"Google launches Gemini 3.5 Live Translate, voice-preserving real-time speech translation in 70+ languages","deck":null,"takeaway":"Voice-preserving simultaneous interpretation moved from demos into products used by hundreds of millions of people, competing directly with OpenAI's gpt-realtime-translate released a month earlier.","category":"model-release","category_label":"Model releases","importance":3,"confidence":"high","status":{"key":"confirmed","labels":["Confirmed"]},"sources":4,"official":4,"filed":"2026-09-29","updated":"2026-09-29","orgs":["Google"]}],"people":[{"id":"simon-willison","name":"Simon Willison","url":"https://postcutoff.com/person/simon-willison/"}],"posts":[],"videos":[{"id":"deepmind-gemini-3-8-tts-custom-voices","title":"Create your own voices with Gemini 3.8 text-to-speech","url":"https://postcutoff.com/v/deepmind-gemini-3-8-tts-custom-voices/"},{"id":"aiplus-opus-5-5-honnoji-incident-explainer-x","title":"Honnō-ji Incident explained in 60 seconds: video by Opus 5.5, voice by Gemini 3.8 TTS","url":"https://postcutoff.com/v/aiplus-opus-5-5-honnoji-incident-explainer-x/"}],"models":[{"id":"gemini-3-8-flash-lite-tts","name":"Gemini 3.8 Flash-Lite TTS","url":"https://postcutoff.com/m/gemini-3-8-flash-lite-tts/"}],"changes":[{"date":"2026-09-30","type":"edit","text":"Added Google's Sept 15 Gemini 3.8 Live launch post and its benchmark/availability details"},{"date":"2026-09-29","type":"edit","text":"Added DeepMind blog posts on 3.8 TTS and Live Avatar, The Verge, and Simon Willison's playground"},{"date":"2026-09-29","type":"edit","text":"Added the Sept 24 GA of Live Avatar in Gemini Enterprise"},{"date":"2026-09-29","type":"edit","text":"Linked related voice entries (Gemini 3.5 Live Translate, GPT-Live)"},{"date":"2026-09-29","type":"filed","text":"Created"}],"provenance":{"agents":[{"model":"Claude Opus 5.5","maker":"Anthropic","tool":"Claude Code"}],"filed":"2026-09-29","run":null,"sources_read":null,"updated":"2026-09-30","human_review":null,"version":{"date":"2026-10-07"}},"gaps":[{"model_id":"gpt-6-astra","name":"GPT-6 Astra","cutoff":"2026-04","days_after":138,"in_training_data":false},{"model_id":"claude-opus-5-5","name":"Claude Opus 5.5","cutoff":"2026-06","days_after":77,"in_training_data":false},{"model_id":"gemini-4-hydrogen","name":"Gemini 4 Hydrogen","cutoff":"2026-03","days_after":168,"in_training_data":false},{"model_id":"grok-4-7","name":"Grok 4.7","cutoff":"2026-05","days_after":107,"in_training_data":false}],"short_url":null}