diff --git a/packages/core/src/config/defaultModelConfigs.ts b/packages/core/src/config/defaultModelConfigs.ts
index 2af712babb..d58974617c 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/config/defaultModelConfigs.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/config/defaultModelConfigs.ts
@@ -364,7 +364,7 @@ export const DEFAULT_MODEL_CONFIGS: ModelConfigServiceConfig = {
     auto: {
       displayName: 'Auto',
       tier: 'auto',
-      isPreview: false,
+      isPreview: true,
       isVisible: true,
       dialogDescription: 'Let Gemini CLI decide the best model for the task.',
       features: { thinking: true, multimodalToolUse: false },
@@ -526,7 +526,11 @@ export const DEFAULT_MODEL_CONFIGS: ModelConfigServiceConfig = {
       default: 'gemini-3-flash-preview',
       contexts: [
         {
-          condition: { requestedModels: ['gemini-2.5-pro'] },
+          condition: { hasAccessToPreview: false },
+          target: 'gemini-2.5-flash',
+        },
+        {
+          condition: { requestedModels: ['gemini-2.5-pro', 'auto-gemini-2.5'] },
           target: 'gemini-2.5-flash',
         },
       ],
@@ -534,12 +538,16 @@ export const DEFAULT_MODEL_CONFIGS: ModelConfigServiceConfig = {
     pro: {
       default: 'gemini-3-pro-preview',
       contexts: [
+        {
+          condition: { hasAccessToPreview: false },
+          target: 'gemini-2.5-pro',
+        },
         {
           condition: { releaseChannel: 'stable', requestedModels: ['auto'] },
           target: 'gemini-2.5-pro',
         },
         {
-          condition: { requestedModels: ['gemini-2.5-pro'] },
+          condition: { requestedModels: ['gemini-2.5-pro', 'auto-gemini-2.5'] },
           target: 'gemini-2.5-pro',
         },
         {
diff --git a/packages/core/src/config/models.ts b/packages/core/src/config/models.ts
index d195c3479b..59adc8ecf6 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/config/models.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/config/models.ts
@@ -248,15 +248,24 @@ export function resolveClassifierModel(
       requestedModel === PREVIEW_GEMINI_MODEL ||
       requestedModel === GEMINI_MODEL_ALIAS_AUTO
     ) {
-      return PREVIEW_GEMINI_FLASH_MODEL;
+      return hasAccessToPreview
+        ? PREVIEW_GEMINI_FLASH_MODEL
+        : DEFAULT_GEMINI_FLASH_MODEL;
     }
-    return resolveModel(GEMINI_MODEL_ALIAS_FLASH);
+    return resolveModel(
+      GEMINI_MODEL_ALIAS_FLASH,
+      false,
+      false,
+      false,
+      hasAccessToPreview,
+    );
   }
   return resolveModel(
     requestedModel,
     useGemini3_1,
     useGemini3_1FlashLite,
     useCustomToolModel,
+    hasAccessToPreview,
   );
 }