Polish Your Gems Into Gemini Skills

What You Need to Know Before Google Phases Out Gems

Written by Bill Seybolt, Senior Cloud Advisor, Cumulus Global

Google is replacing Gems with a new feature called skills, changing how you interact with Gemini. This shift brings your custom rules directly into the chat window, so you’ll no longer need to switch between disconnected tabs as you work.

Understanding Gemini Skills

Skills act as reusable instructions for Gemini, letting you handle standard requests without submitting repeated background context. You can summon a specific skill by typing the @ symbol during an ongoing exchange, or Gemini can identify matching parameters on its own and apply the relevant directives immediately.

This setup eliminates the disruption of switching between disconnected browser tabs to complete related assignments. Because you can combine several skills within one continuous thread, your team will tackle larger objectives while preserving conversational momentum.

The Rollout Schedule

The transition timeline depends on your subscription tier, and the first deadlines apply exclusively to personal Google accounts. If you rely on a personal login, your existing Gems become read-only on November 17, 2026. You can review your saved instructions, but you cannot edit or run them. Google will also retire the Opal experiment and Gems by Google Labs on that date. One month later, on December 17, Google permanently deletes those remaining setups and any attached reference files.

Workspace Business, Enterprise, and non-profit organizations are not affected this year. Those groups will receive the update in March 2027. Finally, Education tiers will make the switch in June 2027.

Managing Storage Limits and File Formats

Each new skill is capped at 100 MB of reference files. If an existing Gem exceeds this limit during the automatic switch, the platform will automatically delete your largest files first to make room. You can prevent this data loss by auditing your folders and moving the most valuable materials over by hand. Be aware that the new format rejects several specific file types, including GitHub, audio, and video files, as well as legacy Microsoft Office documents and compressed archives.

How to Recreate Your Current Gems

Google will convert your stored Gems into skills automatically, but you can move them yourself to adopt the new structure ahead of schedule.

Begin by opening your selected Gem in the Gemini sidebar. If that Gem contains any supporting files, save them in a dedicated folder on your computer. Use only lowercase letters for the folder name, with hyphens between words instead of spaces.

To create a skill, go to the Customize tab in the Gemini sidebar and click the Skills tab. Click Create, then select the Create Manually option from the dropdown list. Copy and paste your Gem’s label along with its guiding rules to the editor screen. If your Gem does not rely on any attached files, you’re finished.

To add files to your skill:

1. Open the Skills page and locate your new skill.
2. Click More Options and select Download to save a compressed archive containing your SKILL.md file.
3. Extract the downloaded archive on your computer and place the SKILL.md file inside the local directory holding your Gem files.
4. Return to the Skills page. Click More Options next to your skill and select Replace Skill.
5. Choose Folder in the upload window.
6. Select the folder containing your SKILL.md file and supporting documents. Make sure the directory name matches your skill.
7. Click Upload to confirm the selection. Gemini will attach your files immediately.

We Can Help

Keeping up with cloud updates takes time away from running your organization. When you’re ready to evaluate how skills and automation fit into your daily operations, connect with one of our Cloud Advisors. We’ll help you review your setup and walk you through your options.