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TRUE, BUTNarrowed Superlative

It leads 4 of the index's 9 tests

It leads 4 of the index's 9 tests, and most readers cannot use it yet.

“Google's Gemini 4 Carbon ranks #1 on Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index v5, making it the best AI model available.”

Google, Gemini 4 Carbon launch post (28 October 2026), echoed on Hacker News

Recorded 29 October 2026. Our ruling means: literally true, materially misleading.

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Receipts pack

The evidence file for this verdict

12 receipts: 2 support the claim, 1 contradict it, 9 add context. 5 figures on the record, 2 traced to a quoted receipt.

The receipts

Each source, the line we quote from it, its date and which way it cuts. Free to read and to cite.

  1. 1Supports the claimblog.google ↗

    Carbon ranks #1 on the recently updated v5.0 of Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index at 59.

    Look up an archived copy ↗

  2. 2Supports the claimartificialanalysis.ai ↗

    Gemini 4 Carbon leads the Intelligence Index v5, with the #1 score in 4 of the 9 Index evaluations

    Look up an archived copy ↗

  3. 3Contextartificialanalysis.ai ↗

    Carbon makes substantial gains elsewhere but is not leading in coding and knowledge work

    Look up an archived copy ↗

  4. 4Contextblog.google ↗

    Carbon jumps +89 elo points to land at #4 (1768) on WebDev Arena

    Look up an archived copy ↗

  5. 5Contextblog.google ↗

    Starting this week, we will make Carbon available to a subset of cyber defenders

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  6. 6Contradicts the claimartificialanalysis.ai ↗

    Gemini 4 Carbon is being rolled out to selected users and is not yet publicly available.

    Look up an archived copy ↗

  7. 7Contextblog.google ↗

    at $2 per million input tokens and $10 per million output tokens

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  8. 8Contextblog.google ↗

    After the introductory period expires, the price of $4 per 1M input tokens and $20 per 1M output tokens will apply.

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  9. 9Contextartificialanalysis.ai ↗

    All our charts and figures use standard pricing for both Gemini 4 Carbon and Argon.

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  10. 10Contextartificialanalysis.ai ↗

    On average, it costs $7.76 per task to evaluate Gemini 4 Carbon (High) on the Intelligence Index.

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  11. 11Contextartificialanalysis.ai ↗

    somewhat expensive when comparing to other models of similar price. It's also faster than average, however very verbose.

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  12. 12Contextnews.ycombinator.com ↗

    Gemini 4 Carbon | Hacker News

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Members' extras

What each receipt proves, and what would change our mind.

  • What each receipt above proves, in our words
  • The figures table, each number traced to the receipt that states it
  • The trick behind the claim, explained, with the guide to spotting it
  • What would change our verdict
  • Our call on the record, with its due date

The verdict, the opening and every receipt above stay free. Membership adds our analysis to the evidence file for every checked story.

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