Gemini is retiring Gems and replacing them with Skills

Google has announced it will remove Gems, the customisable-assistant feature in Gemini. According to Webrazzi, Gems will be replaced by a new feature called Skills. Google's notice in Gemini says the switch takes effect on 17 November 2026.

What were Gems, and what changes?

Gems launched in 2024 and let users teach Gemini how to carry out specific tasks, so the same instructions did not have to be retyped each time. Google's ready-made options included a learning coach, brainstorming assistant, career guide, coding partner and editor, and users could also build and share their own assistants, such as a running coach, nutrition assistant or holiday planner.

What happens to existing Gems?

Existing Gems will be migrated to the new format automatically, so users will not need to do anything. Gems can still be used until the switch date. The former Gems, now offered as Skills, can be used across different AI tasks; users type "/" during a task to choose the Skill they want.

What does it mean for teams?

The source gives no organisation-specific detail, so what follows is interpretation. Teams that use Gemini for repetitive work such as content, customer replies or reporting could back up the instruction text of their Gems as a document before the switch. People who rely on Gems shared within the team should also be told about the new "/" way of calling them. Google's announcement does not spell out capability differences, so it makes sense to check after the migration that existing assistants still behave as expected.