Google plans to replace Gems, its custom versions of Gemini, with a skills feature beginning November 17, 2026. Abner Li reports for 9to5Google that the company has added a notice to the Gems manager saying it will automatically start moving users’ existing Gems to skills on that date.
Users will still be able to use a Gem until Google migrates it, according to the notice. Google has not detailed how every Gem setting will transfer or whether any features will change during the process.
Both Gems and skills let people give Gemini a standing set of instructions. This can help users create specialized assistants for recurring work, such as drafting content in a particular style, summarizing documents, or following a team’s review process.
Gems currently offer several options beyond instructions. Users can select a default tool, including image creation or Canvas, attach files as context, and share a Gem through a link. The report does not say whether skills will retain all of those capabilities. It seems unlikely though, because Gemini’s skills will probably follow what Claude and also ChatGPT already offer.
Skills are designed to be easier to access in a conversation. Users can invoke them by typing a slash in Gemini’s prompt field, rather than opening the Gems section in the side panel. More than one skill can also be used in the same prompt.
Google introduced skills through Gemini Spark. At present, the report says Google AI Pro and AI Ultra subscribers can create skills by switching to the Gemini Spark tab. They can then use skills in the main chat experience with slash commands.
Some parts of the rollout are not yet fully available. Li notes that the notice’s “Learn more” link and “Create skills” button did not work when observed.
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