Hello Google AI / Gemini API team,
I am developing HELMSMAN AI, a crystal-themed assistant for a product showcase website. I would like to test text chat and image understanding using the Gemini API Free tier only.
Project name: HELMSMAN AI
Project ID: helmsman-ai
The following was observed in Google AI Studio on September 27, 2026:
- The project has one API key.
- Billing tier is shown as ‘Unavailable’.
- Project status is shown as ‘Restricted’.
- The Usage page reports that the project quota tier is unspecified and asks me to contact my project administrator. Usage charts also fail to load.
The application is configured to use gemini-3.8-flash for conversation and image analysis, with gemini-3.5-flash-lite for lightweight intent classification. No model-generation request was sent during this assisted troubleshooting, so I do not have an API response code to report.
Could you please confirm whether this project is eligible for the Free tier and explain the restriction? If account verification or another eligibility step is required, please identify the specific requirement and the official way to resolve it without enabling paid billing. If this forum cannot review project eligibility, please direct me to the appropriate support channel.
I do not want to enable paid billing, add a payment method, purchase credits, or request a paid quota increase. No billing changes have been made as part of this troubleshooting. I can provide relevant non-secret details through an appropriate support channel, but will not post my API key or identity documents publicly.
Thank you.