The Lab Notes

Google

Google will replace Gems with skills that stack in one prompt

Google said Sept. 30, 2026, that SKILL.md-based skills will replace Gems in the Gemini app and Workspace, with Gems ending no sooner than March 1, 2027.

The Lab Notes ·

Three overlapping flat-color cards, one green with a red and yellow starburst, one blue with a pink blob and one lime with a pale blue blob, stacked at an angle over an orange background patterned with black outlined ovals.

Google is replacing Gems with skills, reusable instructions that can be stacked in a single Gemini prompt and copied in from other platforms, Google said in a post on the Workspace Updates blog.

The post is dated Sept. 30, 2026. Google said skills, recently introduced in the Gemini app and Google Workspace, roll out to Workspace users over the coming weeks and will eventually replace Gems as the tool for tailoring instructions to specific tasks.

Skills stack inside one chat thread

Unlike Gems, skills work inline in unified chat threads, so several sets of instructions can be layered in one prompt, Google said. Its examples were an educator pairing a “weekly newsletter” skill with an “institutional brand guidelines” skill, and a business user pairing “vendor evaluator” with “executive email drafter.”

Google said users can call skills any time they prompt Gemini in the Gemini app and most Workspace apps, in one prompt or at different points in a conversation. Other examples were a brand voice skill for blog posts and a lesson planning skill.

Skills are built on the open, Markdown-native SKILL.md standard, Google said, so skills created on other platforms can be copied into the Gemini app and Workspace apps. They do not currently sync between the two, so a skill used in both must be created separately in each. A skill builder in Google Docs lets users craft skills and share them with a team.

Gems end no sooner than March 2027

Google will gradually remove Gem support across all surfaces over the coming months, then auto-migrate remaining Gems in the Gemini app to draft skills. Users can still create and use Gems in the Gemini app for now, but new Workspace Studio flows can no longer use the “Ask a Gem” step. Existing flows keep working. Users can recreate Gems as skills by hand sooner, and Google said it will share auto-migration details with admins at least 30 days in advance.

Business and enterprise customers lose Gems first. On Nov. 17, 2026, Gems move to the Settings panel of the Gemini app, where users can still create, edit and use them. No sooner than March 1, 2027, Gems can no longer be created, edited or used, Studio flows with Ask a Gem stop working, and remaining Gems auto-migrate to draft skills.

Education customers get more time. Google said the same end of Gems comes no sooner than June 1, 2027, including removal from Google Classroom and third-party learning systems supported by Gemini LTI.

For educators using Classroom or Gemini LTI, Google recommends moving to Gemini Notebook, available now, and Guided Learning, coming soon to Classroom.

Workspace gets skills first, Oct. 5

Google said Workspace skills reach Rapid Release domains from Oct. 5, 2026, with completion expected by Oct. 12. Scheduled Release domains start Oct. 19. In the Gemini app, both domain types get a gradual rollout from Oct. 13. The Gemini app rollout and Scheduled Release domains in Workspace are expected to finish by mid-November.

Google said Gemini app skills are available to all Workspace customers and users with personal Google accounts, of any age. Workspace skills are limited to users over 18 on Business Starter, Standard and Plus; Enterprise Starter, Standard and Plus; the Google AI Pro for Education add-on; and the AI Expanded Access add-on.

Analysis

We read the SKILL.md choice as Google adopting a format used elsewhere, since its post says skills from other platforms can be copied in. We think the missing sync between the Gemini app and Workspace is the limit users will hit first, since anyone who wants the same skill in both has to build it twice.