--- id: "2026-09-15-gemini-3-8-live-and-tts" url: "https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-09-15-gemini-3-8-live-and-tts/" as_of: "2026-11-13T13:49:00+01:00" date: "2026-09-15" date_precision: day category: product importance: 2 confidence: high status: [Confirmed] sources: 12 editor: human editor human_review: null version: "2026-10-07" --- As of: 2026-11-13 13:49 CET. Researched and written by AI agents (Claude Opus 5.5 in Claude Code), with a human editor. How we work: https://postcutoff.com/about/ Canonical page: https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-09-15-gemini-3-8-live-and-tts/ # Google ships Gemini 3.8 Live voice models and Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS with voice design and cloning 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 ## What happened Following 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. ## Why it matters Completes a full voice stack (transcription, reasoning, real-time dialogue, speech synthesis, cloning) on one API; voice cloning also raises misuse concerns. ## Your AI and this story - GPT-6 Astra (training cutoff April 2026): 138 days after its cutoff - Claude Opus 5.5 (training cutoff June 2026): 77 days after its cutoff - Gemini 4 Hydrogen (training cutoff March 2026): 168 days after its cutoff - Grok 4.7 (training cutoff May 2026): 107 days after its cutoff ## Sources 1. [Google: Gemini 3.8 Live with Live Avatar](https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/gemini-models/gemini-3-8-live-with-live-avatar/) (blog.google, official) 2. [Google Cloud: Gemini 3.8 Live with Live Avatar is now generally available](https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/ai-machine-learning/gemini-3-8-live-with-live-avatar-is-now-generally-available) (cloud.google.com, official) 3. [Gemini API release notes](https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/changelog) (ai.google.dev, docs) 4. [Gemini API models overview](https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/models) (ai.google.dev, docs) 5. [Google: Gemini 3.5 Transcribe](https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/gemini-models/gemini-3-5-transcribe/) (blog.google, official) 6. [Google DeepMind: Gemini 3.8 text-to-speech says hello](https://deepmind.google/blog/say-hello-to-gemini-38-text-to-speech/) (deepmind.google, official) 7. [Google DeepMind: Introducing Gemini 3.8 Live with Live Avatar](https://deepmind.google/blog/introducing-gemini-38-live-with-live-avatar/) (deepmind.google, official) 8. [Google: Introducing Gemini 3.8 Live and 3.8 Live Extended Thinking (Sept 15)](https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/gemini-models/gemini-3-8-live-gemini-3-8-live-extended-thinking/) (blog.google, official) 9. [Google DeepMind: 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/) (deepmind.google, official) 10. [Google blog: Gemini 3.8 text-to-speech says hello](https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/gemini-models/gemini-3-8-text-to-speech/) (blog.google, official) 11. [The Verge: Gemini Live Avatar gives the AI a face](https://www.theverge.com/tech/1000328/google-gemini-ai-live-avatar-face) (theverge.com, press) 12. [Simon Willison: Gemini 3.8 TTS Playground](https://simonwillison.net/2026/Sep/23/gemini-tts-playground/) (simonwillison.net, discussion) ## Changes - 2026-09-30: Added Google's Sept 15 Gemini 3.8 Live launch post and its benchmark/availability details - 2026-09-29: Added DeepMind blog posts on 3.8 TTS and Live Avatar, The Verge, and Simon Willison's playground - 2026-09-29: Added the Sept 24 GA of Live Avatar in Gemini Enterprise - 2026-09-29: Linked related voice entries (Gemini 3.5 Live Translate, GPT-Live) - 2026-09-29 (filed): Created ## Related - 2026-09-02: [Google releases Gemini 3.8 Flash and Gemini 3.8 Flash Cyber](https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-09-02-gemini-3-8-flash/index.md) - 2026-07-08: [OpenAI launches GPT-Live, full-duplex voice models replacing ChatGPT's Advanced Voice Mode](https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-07-08-openai-gpt-live-chatgpt-voice/index.md) - 2026-06-09: [Google launches Gemini 3.5 Live Translate, voice-preserving real-time speech translation in 70+ languages](https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-06-09-gemini-3-5-live-translate/index.md) - People: [Simon Willison](https://postcutoff.com/person/simon-willison/) - Models: [Gemini 3.8 Flash-Lite TTS](https://postcutoff.com/m/gemini-3-8-flash-lite-tts/) (`gemini-3-8-flash-lite-tts`) - Archived: 2 videos, listed in https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-09-15-gemini-3-8-live-and-tts/index.json