From 17 November 2026, existing Gems will automatically be converted into Skills. Google says the transition will be automatic. From 17 Nov...
The transition from Gems to Skills appears to reflect the evolution of AI assistants from simple instruction-based customization toward more reusable and structured AI capabilities.When Gems were introduced, the main idea was personalization. Users could tell Gemini how they wanted an assistant to behave for a particular purpose. The emerging Skills approach places greater emphasis on repeatable capabilities and workflows.This is particularly relevant as AI systems increasingly move beyond answering questions and begin supporting more complex professional activities. A researcher might need an AI workflow for literature analysis, a programmer might need one for code review, while a business professional might use specialized AI capabilities for reporting, data analysis or document preparation. For most users, there may be nothing they need to do. Google says existing Gems will be automatically converted.However, users who rely heavily on customized Gems may want to review their existing configurations before the transition. It can be useful to keep a copy of important instructions, particularly for specialized workflows that took considerable time to develop. Users should also pay attention to how their customized assistants behave after conversion. Although the purpose of the migration is to preserve existing functionality, the new Skills architecture may introduce differences in how instructions and workflows are organized. | ||
