Google is replacing Gemini Gems with Skills on 17 November

Google will replace Gems in Gemini with a new feature called Skills on 17 November, and the old Gems will be removed from personal accounts on 17 December. The migration is automatic for simple Gems, but attached files face new size and format limits that could mean permanent deletion.

What happened

Google has announced it is retiring Gems, its custom AI persona feature, and replacing them with Skills, a saved set of instructions that teaches AI to do one job your way. According to gHacks, the change affects personal Google accounts for users aged 18 and older on this schedule:

• 17 November: Gems convert to Skills. Your old Gems stay visible for reference but you can no longer use, edit or create them.
• 17 December: Old Gems disappear from your account entirely. Unsupported files attached to Gems are also deleted on this date.

Skills behave differently from Gems. A Gem had to be opened directly before you could use it. A skill can be called up anywhere in Gemini, including in the middle of an existing chat, by typing a slash followed by the skill name. Google also plans to switch that trigger to the at sign. Multiple skills can run in the same chat, and skills can run automatically based on a "When to use" section in their instructions.

Skills are built on the open SKILL.md standard, which means they can be transferred to other AI platforms such as Claude and ChatGPT.

Google Workspace accounts follow a later schedule. For Workspace users, Gems move into the Settings panel on 17 November but keep working until at least 1 March 2027. Education users will not see their Gems removed before 1 June 2027. Google has not announced a timeline for users under 18, and has delayed the rollout of Skills to Workspace apps such as Docs, Sheets, Slides and Studio without giving a new date.

Skills have limits. They do not work with Canvas, Deep Research, Guided Learning, video creation or music creation. Content from Google Drive and Gemini Notebook cannot be added. Skills cannot be shared with other users, only 100 skills can be active at one time, and files attached to a skill are capped at 100 MB. Skills do not sync between the Gemini app and Workspace apps.

What it means for your work

• Simple, text-only Gems should migrate automatically with no action needed.
• Gems with attached knowledge files need attention. Google will delete the largest files to bring a skill under the 100 MB limit, and will drop unsupported file types including legacy Office formats (.doc,.xls,.ppt), compressed archives, GitHub files, and audio and video files.
• You can call a skill mid-conversation, which removes the need to start a fresh chat every time you want to use a custom instruction set.
• Stacking multiple skills in one chat is now possible, which was not an option with Gems.

What to do now

If your Gems have no attached files, no action is required before 17 November. If your Gems do have files, follow these steps before 17 December:

1. Click Gems in the Gemini sidebar, then click the Edit (pencil) button next to the Gem.
2. Download every file listed under the Knowledge heading.
3. Open a new Gemini tab and go to Customize, Skills, Create, then select Create manually.
4. Paste the Gem's name, description and instructions into the new skill and click Create.
5. Edit the skill and use Add files for a small number of files. For larger sets, download the skill, place its SKILL.md file in a folder with the knowledge files, and upload that folder using Replace skill.

Note: the steps above apply to personal accounts. Workspace users have until at least 1 March 2027, but Google has not confirmed a final date.

If you have files you cannot re-create, download them from your Gems now, before 17 December.