Google began rolling out skills globally in Gemini chat on September 30, 2026. These saved, reusable instructions will replace Gems, its custom-instruction tool. Availability covers all Google AI subscription tiers for users aged 18 and over; younger-user support is planned. Source
Identify your account’s transition date
Gems support removal starts in November 2026 for personal accounts, March 2027 for Workspace business, enterprise and nonprofit accounts, and June 2027 for education. Existing Gems automatically migrate into skills when removed. Account type therefore determines the relevant transition date. Source
Opal and Gems by Google Labs also close in November. Labs Gems will not migrate into skills, so distinguish those from ordinary Gems when applying migration guidance. Source
Separate current and upcoming tools
Invoke skills with a slash and name, create them from chats, run them for matching prompts, or combine several. Reference text files, PDFs and images are supported starting now. Source
Sharing, Drive files and Gemini Notebook notebooks are planned in coming weeks. Workspace business, enterprise, nonprofit and education customers also receive skills in coming weeks. Check both account rollout and reference-material support. Source