Why Vercel AI Gateway returns RestrictedModelsError for Gemini 3 on free tier

Help
, ,
1

Hi Vercel team and community,

I am currently using the Vercel AI Gateway on the free tier. Recently, I noticed that whenever I try to call the google/gemini-3 type models, I receive the following 403 RestrictedModelsError:

{
    "error": {
        "message": "Free credits temporarily have restricted access due to abuse. We are working on a resolution. Paid credits continue to have unrestricted access. Purchase credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up",
        "type": "no_providers_available",
        "param": {
            "error": "Free credits temporarily have restricted access due to abuse. We are working on a resolution. Paid credits continue to have unrestricted access. Purchase credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up",
            "type": "no_providers_available",
            "statusCode": 403,
            "name": "RestrictedModelsError",
            "message": "Free credits temporarily have restricted access due to abuse. We are working on a resolution. Paid credits continue to have unrestricted access. Purchase credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up"
        }
    }
}

Interestingly, this issue only seems to affect the gemini-3 models, as other Gemini models continue to work normally on the free tier without triggering this error.

While the error message states that this is “temporarily restricted,” I would like to ask for some clarification:

  1. Is this truly a temporary measure while you work on anti-abuse systems, or is it likely to become a permanent long-term policy for the free tier?
  2. If it is temporary, is there any rough ETA or public tracking issue for the resolution?

I completely understand the need to prevent abuse, I just want to plan my project accordingly. Thanks in advance for your help!

8

Hi @nekomiya-hinata, I’ve shared this question internally. I’ll update here once I have the information.

9

Hi Anshuman,

Thank you for the quick response and for looking into this! Looking forward to your update.

10

Same issue is there an update on this ?

11

Hi everyone, I appreciated the patience here.

The 403 RestrictedModelsError issue when using AI Gateway with free credits is a temporary restriction that we’ve put in placed for free tier users due to abuse prevention.

"message": "Free credits temporarily have restricted access due to abuse. We are working on a resolution. Paid credits continue to have unrestricted access.",

This error message you see is accurate.

To resolve this, you’ll need to go to AI Gateway credits and purchase credits which will automatically move you to the paid tier. This should then give you full access!