Introducing skills in the Gemini app and Workspace, plus what’s next for Gems

We recently introduced skills—reusable prompts that guide Gemini—in the Gemini app and Google Workspace. Over the coming weeks, skills will roll out to Workspace users and eventually replace Gems as the tool for tailoring instructions for specific tasks.

Read on for more details on skills, plus critical information and dates related to the transition away from Gems in the Gemini app, Workspace, Google Classroom, and more.

What are skills?

Skills are reusable, custom instructions that you can leverage any time you’re prompting Gemini in the Gemini app and most Workspace apps. For example, you can create a brand voice skill to help you draft blog posts or a lesson planning skill to save time with class prep. You can even use multiple skills in the same prompt or at different points in the conversation.

To learn more about skills and how to create them in the Gemini app, Gemini Enterprise, and Workspace, business and enterprise users should check out our AI skills 101 handbook. Educational institutions should leverage our Gems transition guide for education. For a comprehensive list of resources, see the bottom of this post.

Note: Currently, skills do not sync between the Gemini app and Workspace apps. If you want to use a skill across both platforms, you must create it separately in each.


Create and use skills in the Gemini app

GIF showing how to use skill builder in Docs to draft a proposal using the "Proposal Architect" skill

Use skill builder in Google Docs to craft and share new skills with your team

How do skills differ from Gems?

Unlike Gems, skills function inline in your unified chat threads, meaning you can layer or "stack" multiple sets of custom instructions simultaneously in one prompt. For example, an educator can combine a "weekly newsletter" skill with an "institutional brand guidelines" skill to ensure on-brand communications, while a business user can pair a "vendor evaluator" skill with an "executive email drafter" skill to analyze vendors and draft a recommendation in one step.

In addition, skills are built entirely on the open, Markdown-native SKILL.md standard. This allows you to copy skills you’ve created on other platforms into the Gemini app and Workspace apps.

What happens to Gems?

For now, you can continue creating and using Gems in the Gemini app, though you can no longer create Workspace Studio flows with the “Ask a Gem" step. Existing flows with Ask a Gem steps will continue to work.

Over the coming months, we’ll gradually remove support for Gems across all surfaces and eventually auto-migrate any Gems remaining in the Gemini app to draft skills in the Gemini app. If you’d prefer to migrate sooner, you can manually recreate your Gems as skills in the Gemini app. Because skills in the Gemini app won’t automatically appear in Workspace, you’ll also need to recreate them in Workspace if you want to use them in Workspace apps.

Key dates

  • October 5, 2026: Skills begin rolling out in Workspace, with an expected completion by mid-November.
  • October 13, 2026: Skills begin rolling out in the Gemini app, with an expected completion by mid-November.
  • November 17, 2026: Gems move to the Settings panel of the Gemini app, but users can continue to create, edit, and use them.
  • No sooner than March 1, 2027 (business and enterprise only): Gems can no longer be created, edited, or used, and they’re removed from the Settings panel of the Gemini app. Flows in Workspace Studio with the Ask a Gem step stop working. Any remaining Gems in the Gemini app are auto-migrated to draft skills in the Gemini app.
  • No sooner than June 1, 2027 (education only): Gems can no longer be created, edited, or used, and they’re removed from the Settings panel of the Gemini app, as well as Google Classroom and third-party LMS’ supported by Gemini LTI™. Flows in Workspace Studio with the Ask a Gem step stop working. Any remaining Gems in the Gemini app are auto-migrated to draft skills in the Gemini app.
We’ll share more details on the auto-migration with admins at least 30 days in advance.

Getting started

Rollout pace

Availability

  • Skills in the Gemini app
    • Available to all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google accounts
  • Skills in Workspace
    • Business: Business Starter, Standard, and Plus
    • Enterprise: Enterprise Starter, Standard, and Plus
    • Education Add-ons: Google AI Pro for Education
    • Other Add-ons: AI Expanded Access
Note that skills in Workspace are available only to users over age 18; skills in the Gemini app will be available to users of all ages.

Resources