What Are Gemini Gems? How to Use Them in 2026, Before Skills

Gemini Gems are custom versions of Google's Gemini assistant that you set up once with a name, standing instructions and optional reference files, then reuse whenever you need that job done. You create them at gemini.google.com under Gems, and they also work in the Gemini mobile app. On personal accounts, Google is turning Gems into skills from November 2026.

If you've ever pasted the same paragraph of instructions into a new chat for the fifth time that week, a Gem is the fix. The timing is awkward, though: Gems are being retired just as plenty of people are discovering them. This guide covers what a Gem is, how to build, use and share one, and what happens to your Gems when skills take over, so nothing you've set up gets lost.

What are Gemini Gems?

A Gem is a saved set of instructions for Gemini, sometimes with files attached, that you can open like a separate assistant. Google's Gems help page describes a Gem as a name plus instructions, with optional files under Knowledge that Gemini can draw on. It's the same idea as a custom GPT in ChatGPT.

Every chat you start inside a Gem follows its instructions automatically. That's the whole value: you stop re-explaining your tone, your audience or your format, and you get consistent answers from the first message.

• Who can use them: anyone signed in to Gemini with a personal Google account who is 13 or older (or the minimum age in their country), per Google's help page. Work and school accounts have Gems too, though Google notes different terms may apply.
• Cost: Google's help page lists no paid-plan requirement for creating or using a Gem.
• Where they work: you build them in the Gemini web app, and they show up in the Gemini mobile app and in the Gemini side panel in Google Workspace.
• Where they don't: Google says Gems can't currently be used with Gemini Live, the spoken-conversation mode.

The table draws on Google's Gems, sharing, skills and transition help pages.

What's happening to Gems in 2026?

Google is replacing Gems with skills, reusable instructions you call in any chat, and existing Gems will be converted to skills automatically. Google's transition page gives the schedule by account type, and 9to5Google reported a notice in the Gems manager saying Gems become skills starting November 17, 2026.

Until then, Gems keep working, and everything below still applies. Two caveats from the same page are worth knowing before you build anything big:

• Automatic conversion carries over "supported files", and Google doesn't list every file type that qualifies. GitHub files aren't supported in skills at all.
• Skills don't yet do everything Gems do. They can't be shared, can't pull files from Google Drive, and don't work with Canvas or Deep Research. Google says sharing and Drive files will arrive "in the coming weeks".

My take: if you're on a personal account, Gems are still worth a few minutes today, because the instructions you write move across to skills. Just don't build anything that depends on a Gem being shared with a team for the long run until Google confirms skills can do the same.

How to create a Gem in Gemini

You create a Gem on a computer at gemini.google.com by clicking Gems, then New Gem, and filling in a name and instructions. Google's Gems help page lays it out like this:

1. Open gemini.google.com in a browser, signed in to your Google account.
2. Click the Open Sidebar icon.
3. Click Gems. If you've never made one, click Settings and help first, then Gems.
4. Click New Gem.
5. Type a name and your instructions.
6. Optional: under Knowledge, click Add files to attach reference material.
7. Optional: type a test prompt in the preview box on the right and click Submit to see how the Gem answers.
8. Click Save.

Previewing doesn't save anything, a point Google's tips page makes too, so click Save before you close the tab. If you only have a rough idea, write a sentence or two and click Use Gemini to re-write instructions; Gemini expands it into fuller instructions you can trim.

How to write Gem instructions that work

Good Gem instructions say who the Gem is, what it does, what it needs to know and how answers should look. Google's tips for custom Gems calls these persona, task, context and format, and says you don't need all four, though using a few helps.

The mistake I made with my first Gem was trying to make it do everything: emails, meeting notes, research. The answers came out vague because the instructions pulled in three directions. Splitting it into one Gem per job fixed it. A narrow Gem with a clear output beats a clever general one.

This is the shape I use for a Gem that drafts replies to client emails. Swap in your own details:

You help me reply to client emails.

Persona: a calm, direct account lead. Warm but never gushing.

Task: when I paste a client email, draft a reply I can send with light edits.

Context: our clients are small businesses. They want a clear answer and a date.
Never promise a refund or a deadline. Write [CHECK] where one is needed.

Format:
- Under 120 words.
- First line answers their question.
- End with one clear next step.
- Sign off with "Best," and no name.

If the email is angry, add one line above the draft saying what they're upset about.

The [CHECK] line matters more than it looks. When a frustrated client email arrived late on a Friday, the draft flagged exactly where I had to confirm a date instead of inventing one, and that's the part I'd least want an assistant to guess.

How to add files to a Gem

Files give a Gem facts to work from, such as a style guide, a price list or a template. Under Knowledge, Add files offers three sources, according to Google's help page:

• Upload files from your computer.
• Add from Drive for Google Drive files. Gemini uses the latest version, so edits you make to the file later show up in the Gem. Keep Activity must be on and Google Workspace connected to Gemini.
• More uploads, then Notebooks, to attach a NotebookLM notebook.

Drive is the option I lean on. My meeting-prep Gem points at an agenda template in Drive, and when I changed the template's sections, the Gem picked them up without me touching it. You can also click Disable knowledge citations if you don't want answers citing your files.

How to use a Gem

To use a Gem, open Gems in the Gemini sidebar, pick it under My Gems, then type your prompt as usual. From Google's help page:

1. On gemini.google.com, click Open Sidebar.
2. Click Gems.
3. Under My Gems, select the Gem.
4. Type your prompt in the box at the bottom and click Submit.

Gems you create on the web also appear in the Gemini app on your phone and in the Gemini side panel in Google Workspace. The prompt itself can be short, since the Gem already knows the job. With my reply Gem, I paste the client's email and nothing else.

How to use Google's premade Gems

Google ships a set of premade Gems you can use straight away or copy and adjust. Google's premade Gems page names examples including Career guide, Writing editor and Brainstormer, and says others cover topics such as coding.

1. At gemini.google.com, click Gems in the sidebar (or Settings and help, then Gems).
2. Under Premade by Google, select a Gem.
3. Type your prompt and click Submit.

To make one your own, click Make a copy next to it, rename it, edit the instructions and click Save. Copying works only in the web app, and some premade Gems have no Make a copy option at all. Copying Writing editor and adding your house style rules is a quick way to get a useful Gem without writing instructions from scratch.

How to edit or delete a Gem

You edit or delete a Gem from the same Gems page in the sidebar. Per Google's help page:

• Edit: under My Gems, click the Gem, change the name, instructions or files, then click Submit.
• Delete: under My Gems, find the Gem, click Options, then Delete.

Before deleting a Gem you've used for months, copy its instructions into a note. With the move to skills, it's a cheap backup.

How to share a Gem

You can share a Gem by email or by link from the web app, and choose whether people can only use it or also edit it. These steps come from Google's sharing help page:

1. At gemini.google.com, click Open Sidebar, then Gems.
2. Next to the Gem, click Share.
3. Enter the email address of each person.
4. Choose Viewer (can use it and see its instructions and files) or Editor (can also change, share and delete it).
5. Optional: add an expiration date or a message.
6. Click Send or Share. To share by link instead, click Copy link, and check the Gem's general access so the people you send it to can open it.

When I shared my meeting-prep Gem with my team, I gave everyone Viewer. They got the benefit without anyone quietly rewriting the instructions, and I stayed the one place to change it.

A few limits from the same page: Gems that use a NotebookLM notebook can't be shared, an unsupported file type hides the Share option, and for company and school users the admin's Drive sharing settings decide who you can share with. Shared Gems are stored in a Google Drive folder.

Gem ideas for everyday work

The best Gems handle a task you repeat every week with the same rules. A few that pay off for most people who live in email and meetings:

• Email reply drafter with your tone, sign-off and the things you never promise in writing.
• Meeting prep that turns an invite and a few notes into an agenda with three questions to ask.
• Weekly update writer that takes rough bullets and returns done, next and blocked in plain sentences.
• Proofreader loaded with your style guide, built from a copy of Writing editor.
• Job post or announcement drafter with your company's boilerplate attached as a file.

A Gem shapes how Gemini answers; it doesn't add new abilities. For everything else Gemini can do, and what each plan costs, see my Gemini explainer. For Gemini at work, Gemini for Google Workspace covers what each business plan includes.

How to move a Gem to a skill

You don't have to do anything: Google says Gems are recreated as skills automatically when they're removed. If you'd rather move one early, Google's transition page explains how to rebuild it by hand:

1. Open Gems in the sidebar, click Edit next to the Gem and download any Knowledge files.
2. Copy the Gem's name, description and instructions somewhere safe.
3. Go to Settings, then Skills (in some versions it sits under Customize in the sidebar), click Create, then Create manually, paste the details and click Create.
4. To add files, use Skill actions, then Download to get a .zip with a SKILL.md file. Put SKILL.md in a folder with your files, named in lowercase with hyphens to match the skill (for example, client-reply-drafter), then use Skill actions, then Replace skill to upload the folder.

To call the skill, type / in a chat and pick it. Google's skills help page says Gemini can also use an active skill on its own when it fits the request. Skills require Keep Activity and an age of 18 or older. The transition page adds that you can create as many skills as you like, with up to 100 active at once.

I'd move a Gem early only if it leans on files you'd hate to lose. Download them now either way. For Gems that rely on Canvas, Deep Research or sharing, waiting is the better call, since skills don't support those yet.

Common Gem problems and fixes

• I can't find Gems in the sidebar. If you've never created one, open Settings and help, then Gems.
• The Share button is missing. The Gem may use a NotebookLM notebook or an unsupported file, or your work or school admin may have turned sharing off.
• A Gem won't work in Gemini Live. Google says Gems don't work with Live yet. Use a typed chat.
• I can't copy a premade Gem on my phone. Copying and customizing premade Gems is web-only. Do it at gemini.google.com and the copy appears on your phone.
• My Drive file isn't being used. Check that Keep Activity is on and that Google Workspace is connected to Gemini.
• My work account doesn't have skills. That's expected for now. Business accounts keep Gems until March 2027 and education accounts until June 2027.

Google's transition page doesn't say what happens to Gems on accounts under 18, given that skills require 18 or older. If that applies to you, keep a copy of your instructions.