Google Is Retiring Gemini's Gems in Favor of 'Skills'
As all-in-one AI agents like Meta's Muse and Instinct gain momentum, Google has announced it is shutting down the Gemini feature known as Gems, which let users build custom AI assistants for specific tasks. The work users put into creating those Gems, however, will not be lost; they will be automatically migrated to "skills" that can be applied across different AI tasks.
What's Changing and When
Details about the transition are being shared inside the Gemini app, where a message warns users that Gems will become skills starting November 17, 2026. Google says it will handle the migration to the new format, so users won't need to take any action. Existing Gems will remain usable until that date.
A Brief History of Gems
Launched in 2024, Gems were designed to help users teach their AI to perform certain tasks without repeating instructions each time. Google's pre-made Gems included a learning coach, a brainstorming assistant, a career guide, a coding partner, and an editor. Users could also create their own—say, a running coach, a nutritionist, or a vacation planner. These custom assistants could be shared with others, a feature Google hoped would boost the popularity of its Gemini app.
Image Credits: Google
A Familiar Branding Problem
The shutdown of Gems is yet another example of why Google shouldn't be so quick to give every new AI feature its own brand name, icon, and prominent spot in its app's navigation—especially when it later shuffles things around, folding one feature into another. To be fair, this has been a weak point in Google's strategy long before the AI era: at one point, the company ran multiple messaging and communication apps simultaneously.
'Skills' Aren't Necessarily More User-Friendly
Even rebranded as skills, the former Gems aren't as consumer-friendly as simply typing text into a chatbot like Meta's Muse. According to Google, users will need to type a forward slash ("/") in a task thread to select the skill they want to use—an interface that tends to appeal to engineers rather than everyday users.
Gems' wind-down was first reported over the weekend by ...
via TechCrunch AI