Google’s Gemini app says it will begin automatically migrating Gems to Skills on November 17, 2026. That is the start of the transition, not a deadline on which every Gem stops working. According to the notice observed by 9to5Google in the Gems Manager, users can continue using each Gem until it migrates.
Google plans to carry Gems into the new format without requiring their creators to rebuild them, as TechCrunch also reported. The available reporting does not establish whether every attachment, default tool, or sharing arrangement will behave exactly as it did before.
Keep using your Gems for now. For those you rely on, note which settings go beyond written instructions so you can check them after conversion.
November 17 Is the Start of Migration
The notice quoted by 9to5Google says Google will “automatically begin migrating” Gems on November 17 and that Gems remain usable until they migrate. It gives no completion date and does not say all Gems will change at once. A Gem still appearing in its existing form after November 17 would not contradict the notice.
Gems are custom versions of Gemini that let users save instructions for repeat tasks. Someone might use one to edit text to a particular style or guide a familiar research process. According to 9to5Google, Gems can also include reference files, start with a default tool such as Canvas or Create image, and be shared through links. Those settings make the migration worth checking beyond the change of name.
There is no stated need to recreate a working Gem before November 17, or a basis for treating that date as a deadline to export or copy everything. For a Gem you use regularly, consider recording its configuration while the current settings are easy to inspect. You can then compare it with the migrated Skill.
Skills Change Where You Start a Task
The clearest reported workflow change is how users call up their custom instructions. With Gems, users commonly open the Gems area from Gemini’s side panel and choose one from their list. 9to5Google reports that Skills can instead be selected by typing / in the prompt box, and that multiple Skills can be used together.
Google’s Gemini Spark help page confirms the selection method for a Spark task: enter /, then select an existing Skill. 9to5Google also reports slash-based access in the main Gemini conversational experience. If a migrated Skill does not appear where you expect it, check the account and the part of Gemini you are using before concluding it has been lost.
Selecting several Skills could help when a task needs more than one set of instructions. Test a migrated Skill on its own first, though. If two Skills give different directions about tone, format, or sources, it will be harder to tell what caused a change in the answer.
Google uses the word Skills in more than one product context. Its Workspace Studio skills documentation describes a separate experience that can use @ in Workspace apps and has its own sharing controls. Those instructions do not promise that a Gem migrated inside the Gemini app will work in Gmail or Docs, or inherit Workspace Studio’s sharing behavior.
Make a Record of the Gems You Depend On
You do not need to document every experimental Gem. Focus on the ones whose loss or changed behavior would interrupt work, particularly those built around attached material, a chosen tool, or a shared link.
For each important Gem, note:
- Its instructions and purpose. Keep a copy of the instructions you wrote, along with an example of the kind of answer the Gem should produce.
- Its reference files. Record the filenames and what each file is used for. Follow your organization’s rules when handling sensitive material.
- Its default tool. Note whether the Gem opens with Canvas, Create image, or another selected tool, and what you expect that tool to do.
- Who uses it. Keep track of any link you have shared and the people who need access.
This record gives you something to compare; it does not imply Google will discard those settings. The reported notice promises automatic migration but gives no verified item-by-item account of how these features will carry over.
Choose a short test you can repeat after conversion. For a writing Gem, that might be a representative paragraph and a specified output format. For one that uses a reference file, ask a question whose answer depends on that file. Keep the test material appropriate for the account and workspace where you run it.
After Conversion, Check More Than the Instructions
Once an individual Gem becomes a Skill, confirm that you can find and select it, then run the representative task you recorded. Also check the settings and access that an answer alone cannot verify.
Attached files: Inspect the migrated Skill, where its settings are available, for the references you expect. Test whether an answer uses a distinctive fact from a file instead of producing a plausible answer from general knowledge. If a file is absent or inaccessible, do not assume the Skill still has the context it needs.
Default tools: Try the task for which you selected Canvas, Create image, or another tool. Instructions describing an action do not confirm that Gemini selects and uses the tool as your Gem did. Check the resulting workflow as well as the Skill’s name.
Sharing and access: If colleagues or friends use your Gem through a link, ask one of them to check access after that Gem migrates. Verify both that they can open what you intend to share and that they cannot see material you did not intend to expose. Check whether the old link works and whether the new sharing permissions match the old ones.
Frequently Asked Questions
4 questions
1Will My Gemini Gems Stop Working on November 17?
No. Google’s in-app notice, as observed by 9to5Google, says automatic migration begins on November 17, 2026, and that each Gem remains usable until it migrates. The notice does not say every Gem will convert that day or provide a completion date.
2
Sources
- 9to5Google in the Gems Manager9to5google.com
- TechCrunch also reportedtechcrunch.com
- Gemini Spark help pagesupport.google.com
- Workspace Studio skills documentationsupport.google.com
