Published October 13, 2026 · AI News
Google is replacing Gems, the custom assistants in Gemini, with Skills. Skills reach the Gemini app for personal accounts starting today, October 13, and Google will begin moving existing Gems over in November. If you built Gems, your instructions carry over automatically, but uploaded knowledge files need attention.
Key dates
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| October 5 | Skills arrive in Google Workspace |
| October 13 | Skills roll out in the Gemini app (personal accounts, 18+) |
| November 2026 | Gems start converting to Skills; Google’s in-app notice points to November 17 |
| 2027 | Work and school accounts switch; business accounts keep Gems until at least March 1, 2027 |
Skills vs Gems
| Gems | Skills | |
|---|---|---|
| How you use it | Open a separate Gem | Type / (later @) and the skill’s name in any chat |
| Automatic use | No | Gemini can apply a skill on its own when it’s relevant |
| Combine several | One Gem per chat | Stack several skills in one chat |
| Format | Google-only | Open SKILL.md format, portable to other tools |
One catch: skills made in the Gemini app and in Google Workspace don’t sync. If you use both, you have to create the skill twice.
What to do now
- Download the knowledge files from your important Gems. Google says files must be re-uploaded when you recreate a Gem as a skill.
- Recreate your one or two most-used Gems as skills now, so you can test them before the forced switch.
- Business users have more time, as long as the admin hasn’t changed anything.
The move puts Google in line with Anthropic and OpenAI, which also call reusable instructions “skills”. For plan details, see our Gemini pricing guide.