Google Will Replace Gemini Gems With Skills in November 2026

As all-in-one AI agents such as Meta’s Muse and Instinct gain momentum, Google has announced that it is discontinuing the Gemini feature called “Gems.” The feature allowed users to create customized AI assistants designed for particular tasks. However, the effort users put into creating their Gems will not be lost, as Google plans to automatically convert them into “skills” that can be used across different AI tasks.

Information about the transition is appearing in the Gemini app, where a notification tells users that Gems will become skills beginning November 17, 2026. Google says the migration will happen automatically, meaning users will not need to take any steps themselves. Until that date, existing Gems will continue to work.

Google introduced Gems in 2024 as a way for users to train their AI to handle specific tasks without requiring the same instructions to be entered repeatedly. Among Google’s pre-built Gems were tools such as a learning coach, brainstorming assistant, career guide, coding partner, and editor. Users could also create customized Gems based on their own requirements, including assistants designed to act as a running coach, nutritionist, or vacation planner. Google also allowed these custom assistants to be shared with other people, with the expectation that the feature would contribute to wider adoption of its Gemini AI app.

The decision to retire Gems also highlights a broader issue with Google’s approach to naming and presenting new AI features. Giving each new capability its own brand name, icon, and prominent position in an app’s navigation can become confusing when Google later reorganizes the experience and combines one feature with another. This issue, of course, predates the AI era. Google has previously operated multiple messaging and communication apps simultaneously, demonstrating that this kind of product fragmentation is not a new problem for the company.

Even after being converted into skills, the former Gems may still be less convenient for everyday consumers than simply entering a request into a chatbot such as Meta’s Muse. Google says users will need to type a forward slash “/” within a task thread and then select the skill they want to use. That kind of interface is generally more familiar to engineers than to typical users.