diff --git a/google/cloud/aiplatform/utils/gcs_utils.py b/google/cloud/aiplatform/utils/gcs_utils.py
index 69f57f311f..ac7812c9b3 100644
--- a/google/cloud/aiplatform/utils/gcs_utils.py
+++ b/google/cloud/aiplatform/utils/gcs_utils.py
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@
     _GCS_VERSION = Version(get_version("google-cloud-storage"))
 except Exception:
     # Fallback if version detection fails (should not happen in normal use)
-    _GCS_VERSION = Version("2.0.0")
+    _GCS_VERSION = Version("3.0.0")
 
 _USE_FROM_URI = _GCS_VERSION >= Version("3.0.0")