Google phases out Gems, adds Gemini skills November 17 2026
Technology
Google is phasing out "Gems" and bringing in "skills" to its Gemini app starting November 17, 2026.
Gems let you set custom instructions for Gemini, but users with Gems will be migrated automatically starting November 17, 2026: no action needed on your part.
Gemini skills activated by slash commands
Skills make things smoother: you can turn them on just by typing a slash command in the chat box, and even use several at once.
This is way quicker than the old Gems system, which made you dig through a side panel.
For now, only users with Google AI Pro or AI Ultra plans can create their own skills through the Gemini Spark tab, though some features like the "Create skills" button aren't live yet.