If you've spent time building custom Gems in the Gemini app, you'll want to know this: Google is replacing them with "skills," and the switch starts in November.

As 9to5Google spotted, the Gems manager now shows a notice at the top: "Gems will become skills starting Nov 17, 2026." Google adds that it will "automatically begin migrating your Gems to skills," and that you can keep using your Gems until they're moved over.

🚨 Gemini web now has skills

All Gems will become skills starting Nov 17, 2026 too

Nice upgrade pic.twitter.com/Yya0fEv2sO

— Lumina (@LuminaBench) September 27, 2026

Gems launched in 2024 as "custom versions of Gemini." You'd give one a set of instructions, and it would behave that way every time. Skills came later, introduced alongside Gemini Spark. At a high level, both let you give Gemini custom instructions.

According to Google's help page, a skill is "a set of reusable instructions and additional context" that teaches Gemini how to do a specific task and what tools to use. You can create one with Gemini's help, start from a template, or upload a skill file.

The big practical difference is how you use them. Gems live in the side panel, and you have to open one before you start chatting. Skills are called up by typing a slash (/) in the prompt box, and you can combine several in a single task. Gemini can also pick up a relevant skill automatically, without you asking.

That's a genuinely nicer workflow. Digging through the sidebar to find "My Gems" was always a bit clunky.

But Gems did a few things that skills haven't obviously replaced yet. As 9to5Google points out, a Gem can have a default tool, like Create image or Canvas, and can carry files for context. Gems can also be shared with other people via a link. Google hasn't explained how those settings will carry over during the migration.

There's also a regional wrinkle. Google's help page says skills are currently only available in Gemini Spark, and not in the European Economic Area, Nigeria, Switzerland, or the UK. It isn't clear what happens to Gems for users in those regions when the migration begins.

It also looks like the notice went out a little early. 9to5Google says the "Learn more" help article and the "Create skills" button in the notice didn't work yet. If you're a Google AI Pro or Ultra subscriber, you can already make skills from the Gemini Spark tab, and typing a slash in the regular chat box lets you use them there too.

Not everyone is thrilled. Reddit's Gemini communities lit up over the weekend, with one r/GeminiAI thread titled "Killing Gems is going to completely ruin the Gemini app experience."

It's official. Gems are retiring.
by u/PleasantSir9581 in Bard

If you rely on Gems for work, it's worth writing down your instructions and noting which files and tools each one uses before November 17, just in case the migration isn't perfect.