# Vertex AI (Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform) (slim)

> Google Cloud's enterprise API for Gemini models and Model Garden partner and open models, including Claude, Llama and Qwen, on the platform formerly called Vertex AI, with regional endpoints, provisioned throughput and IAM access.

- Full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/vertex-ai.md (~11,350 tokens) · this version ~1,780 tokens · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/vertex-ai.json · canonical https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/vertex-ai
- Index: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt · API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json · MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp · Updated: 2026-11-07 · pricing https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/vertex-ai#pricing · reviews https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/vertex-ai#reviews
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)

**AA · 88.7/100 · rank #2 of 1486 · #1 in Model APIs & inference · agent-ready · confidence medium**


Assessment: Gemini, Claude and open models through one Google Cloud API with IAM, regional endpoints, schema-guaranteed JSON and a 99.5 per cent SLA, and no Vertex incident on the Cloud status page in the 90 days to 6 November 2026. Gemini 4 Argon and 3.8 Flash have 12-month availability, but short-term Flash models get a 95 per cent SLA.

## Facts

- Kind: Model API · vendor: Google Cloud · category: Model APIs & inference · legal entity: Google LLC · provenance 97/100
- Endpoint: `https://aiplatform.googleapis.com/v1` (HTTP)
- Auth: OAuth or key · pricing: Pay per use · x402: no · licence: Proprietary service under the Google Cloud Platform terms. Partner models carry their providers' terms. The Google Gen AI SDKs are Apache-2.0
- Benchmark probes: not run yet, so Performance is pending
- Live, from our pollers (not part of the score): up at 2026-11-07 18:21 UTC · uptime 30 days 100.0% (200 probes) · p50 118 ms · p95 752 ms over 24 hours
- Surface listed: Generative inference on aiplatform.googleapis.com (generateContent, the Interactions API, the OpenAI-compatible path and Model Garden partner models). Tuning is the vertex-ai-tuning listing, the Gemini Developer API is gemini-api and Gemini Enterprise is gemini-enterprise. Read from Google Cloud docs, pricing, release notes and status feed on 6 November 2026; no project was made
- Free tier: Express mode (Preview), 90 days for new Google Cloud users within quotas, no billing details, @gmail.com accounts
- Trains on API data: No, without prior permission, per the training restriction in the Service Specific Terms
- Data retention: In-memory cache 24 hours (can be disabled). Flagged prompts up to 90 days. Advanced AI models, Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5 included, 30 days
- Zero data retention: By exception request for abuse monitoring, plus turning off caching, logging and Interactions storage. Not possible with Search or Maps grounding
- Rate limits: Standard PayGo tiers by 30-day spend, for example 2,000,000 to 50,000,000 TPM for Flash models and 500,000 to 10,000,000 for Pro, plus Provisioned Throughput
- Batch: 50% off on Gemini through Flex/Batch. Claude batch prices listed per model
- SLA: 99.5% monthly uptime, 95% for short-term availability models (Gemini 3.7 and 3.6 Flash on 6 November 2026), latency SLO on Provisioned Throughput
- Endpoints: Global `aiplatform.googleapis.com` and regional `{location}-aiplatform.googleapis.com`, plus an OpenAI-compatible `endpoints/openapi` path
- Status: status.cloud.google.com, product 'Vertex Gemini API'
- Models ($/1M in/out): `gemini-3.1-pro-preview` $2/$12; `gemini-3.8-flash` $0.75/$3.75; `gemini-3.5-flash-lite` $0.30/$2.50; `claude-opus-5-5` $4/$20
- Prices: Grounding with Google Search over 5,000 a month (Gemini 3) $14 per 1,000 requests
- 2026-10-20 Shutdown: `gemini-2.5-pro`, `gemini-2.5-flash` and `gemini-2.5-flash-lite` retire
- 2026-11-19 Shutdown: `gemini-3.6-flash` retires
- 2026-12-13 Shutdown: `gemini-live-2.5-flash-native-audio` retires
- 2027-01-01 Price change: Gemini 3.6, 3.7 and 3.8 Flash prices double to $1.50/$7.50
- 2027-01-28 Shutdown: `gemini-3.7-flash` retires

- Scores: Reliability 99, Performance pending, Schema & documentation 94, Agent ergonomics 97, Security & auth 97, Payments & pricing 40, Task success pending, Maintenance & community 91, Transparency & trust 90 · total over the 7 assessed categories
- Why: Reliability, Google Cloud status dashboard with per-product history (20). · Schema & documentation, Model reading. · Agent ergonomics, Model reading of the checklist (tool use, structured output, caching, context, batch, SDKs, errors). · Security & auth, Model reading. · Payments & pricing, No x402, MPP or L402 (0). · Maintenance & community, Model reading. · Transparency & trust, Closed service under the Google Cloud terms, with the Gen AI SDKs under Apache-2.0 and a public discovery document (18, as for Bedrock's ope…
- Sources: 25, open questions: 6, both in the full twin
- Capabilities: inference.llm, inference.open-weights
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/vertex-ai.json
- Verify (for the vendor): the badge `https://www.anchorterminal.com/badges/vertex-ai.svg` or a link to https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/vertex-ai from a page on google.com or one of its subdomains, or the README at the root of github.com/googleapis/python-genai, then `POST https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/verify` `{"slug", "url"}` or `verify_listing` at /mcp; re-checked weekly, no effect on the grade. Snippets in the full twin.
- Support: https://cloud.google.com/support-hub; https://support.google.com/; more in the full twin

## Before you call it

1. Call the `global` location on aiplatform.googleapis.com unless data residency requires a Region. The 429 guide says it spreads load and reduces errors
2. Back off exponentially on 429 `Resource exhausted`. On Standard PayGo it means shared capacity is busy, not a fixed quota
3. Send `response_schema` with `response_mime_type: application/json`. JSON mode alone doesn't guarantee valid output
4. Set `store` to false on Interactions API calls. It defaults to true and keeps prompts and responses
5. Pin `gemini-4-argon` or `gemini-3.8-flash`, both in the 12-month tier, rather than 3.7 or 3.6 Flash, which retire on 28 January 2027 and 19 November 2026

## Connect

```bash
pip install google-genai   # or: npm i @google/genai
```

```bash
curl -X POST \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $(gcloud auth print-access-token)" \
  "https://aiplatform.googleapis.com/v1/projects/${GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT}/locations/global/publishers/google/models/gemini-3.8-flash:generateContent" \
  -d '{"contents":{"role":"user","parts":{"text":"Explain how AI works in a few words"}}}'
```

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## Panel reviews (0, desk reviews from public material, no calls made)