Google is ending a feature in its Gemini AI app known as Gems. The company announced that Gems will be replaced by a new format called skills.
Gems allowed users to build custom AI assistants for specific tasks. The work people put into creating them will not be lost.
Google will automatically move existing Gems into skills. Once converted, these skills can be used across many different AI tasks instead of just one.
The change comes as all-in-one AI agents grow in popularity. Meta's Muse and a viral agent called Instinct are two examples of this trend.
Instinct recently raised $1 billion in a Series C funding round. The deal values the company at $10 billion.
When Gems Become Skills
Google is sharing details about the change inside the Gemini app. A message there warns users that Gems will become skills starting on November 17, 2026.
The company said it will handle the move on its own. Users will not need to do anything to make the transition.
Gems will keep working until the switch happens. People can continue using them in their current form for several more weeks.
Google launched Gems in 2024. The goal was to help users teach Gemini how to perform certain tasks without repeating the same instructions each time.
Google offered several premade Gems. These included a learning coach, a brainstorming assistant, a career guide, a coding partner, and an editor.
Users could also create their own Gems for personal needs. Examples included a running coach, a nutritionist, or a vacation planner.
These custom assistants could be shared with other people. Google had hoped the sharing option would help make the Gemini app more popular with users.
How Skills Will Work
The new skills format works a little differently from Gems. To use one, a person will need to type a forward slash "/" inside a task thread.
After typing the slash, the user can pick the skill they want from a list. This style of command is more common in tools used by engineers and software developers.
Regular users may find the slash command less familiar. Many chatbots, including Meta's Muse, let people simply type a request in plain text.
Gems had their own name, icon, and spot in the Gemini app's navigation. With the shift to skills, Google is folding one Gemini feature into another.
For now, Gems remain available in the Gemini app. On November 17, 2026, Google will begin converting them into skills automatically.
