Feature Request: Option to Choose Cloud Run Deployment Region in Google AI Studio

Google AI Studio
1

Feature Request: Option to Choose Cloud Run Deployment Region in Google AI Studio

Category: Feature Request / Feedback
Severity: High (blocks EU compliance and latency optimization)

Summary

Google AI Studio’s Build mode lacks an option to select the Cloud Run deployment region. All deployments are forced to us-west1 (Oregon), regardless of the developer’s location or target audience. This creates significant problems for developers outside North America, particularly in the EU, who need data residency compliance and lower latency for their users.

Problem

When deploying an app from AI Studio Build, the Cloud Run region is not configurable. It defaults to us-west1 for all users. There is no dropdown, no setting, no CLI flag — nothing in the UI or documentation that allows a developer to specify where their app should run.

This has been raised repeatedly by multiple developers on the Google AI Developers Forum :

  • A developer in Belgium reported all deployments default to us-west1
  • An EU citizen stated they “need European servers” and called the lack of region selection a “dealbreaker”
  • Another user emphasized the need for EU data residency and said they “really want to be able to select our own region”

The current behavior is especially problematic because:

  1. Cloud Run’s native domain mapping is not available in all regions. europe-west2 (London), for example, is not on the supported list. Developers who want to map a custom domain are forced to use us-west1 even when their users are in Europe or Africa.

  2. Data residency compliance is impossible. EU-based developers cannot guarantee that user data stays within the EU if the app runs in Oregon.

  3. Latency is suboptimal for non-US users. For users in Nigeria, Europe, or Asia, routing traffic to us-west1 adds 100–200ms of unnecessary round-trip time.

  4. AI Studio’s region selection is inconsistent. Some users report the first app deployed to us-west1, while subsequent deployments went to europe-west2 — with no way to predict or control which region gets chosen .

Proposed Solution

Add a region selector in the AI Studio Build deployment flow. The dropdown should include all Cloud Run-supported regions, with sensible defaults:

  • us-west1 (Oregon) — current default
  • us-central1 (Iowa)
  • europe-west1 (Belgium)
  • europe-west2 (London)
  • europe-west4 (Netherlands)
  • asia-east1 (Taiwan)
  • asia-northeast1 (Tokyo)
  • asia-southeast1 (Singapore)

The selected region should be persisted per project, so subsequent redeploys use the same region unless changed.

Use Case

I am building an app with a global user base, primarily in Africa and Europe. Firestore is deployed in eur3 (Europe multi-region) for compliance and latency. Forcing Cloud Run to us-west1 means:

  • Every database read/write crosses the Atlantic (~100–150ms added per query)
  • EU users’ data leaves the EU at the network layer
  • Custom domain mapping works, but the performance penalty is significant

With a region selector, I could deploy to europe-west2 or europe-west1 — close to my Firestore and my users.

Additional Context

  • The region restriction is not a tier limitation. Upgrading AI Studio does not unlock region selection.
  • The workaround — manually copying the Cloud Run service to a supported region — is not viable because AI Studio does not push updates to the copied service.
  • For EU developers, this is a compliance blocker, not just a performance issue.

What I’m Asking For

A simple dropdown in the AI Studio Build deploy dialog that lets me pick my Cloud Run region. That’s it. No new pricing tier, no enterprise gate — just the option to choose where my app runs.