Google is killing off Gemini’s Gems in favor of ‘skills’
TechCrunch Sarah Perez
Google is shutting down Gemini’s Gems and moving them to skills. Your custom AI helpers stay, but you’ll have to summon them with a slash.
Based on reporting by TechCrunch, Sarah Perez — read the original for the full story.
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Google is retiring Gems, the Gemini feature that let people build custom AI assistants for specific jobs. The company says those setups won’t vanish; they’ll be moved into a new format called skills, with the switch set for November 17, 2026.
The change is already being messaged inside the Gemini app. Google says it will handle the migration itself, so users won’t need to rebuild anything or take action to keep their custom assistants around. Until that date, Gems will keep working.
Gems launched in 2024 as a way to stop users from repeating the same instructions over and over. Google shipped pre-made versions such as a learning coach, brainstorming assistant, career guide, coding partner, and editor, while also letting people make their own for things like running, nutrition, or trip planning. Those custom assistants could be shared with other people too, which was part of Google’s push to make Gemini feel more useful.
But the shift also shows Google doing what Google does: renaming, folding, and reshuffling features instead of leaving them alone. The new skills setup sounds less friendly than just typing into a chatbot. Google says users will need to enter a slash in a task thread to pick the skill they want, which is very much a move for people who enjoy interfaces that feel like they were designed by a keyboard shortcut.
My take — AI-written commentary, not fact-checked reporting
This is classic Google: build a neat thing, give it a shiny name, then make users learn a new one. The bigger story is that the consumer AI race is drifting toward fewer front-end gimmicks and more invisible plumbing, whether anyone asked for that or not. The slash-command future is very efficient, which is another way of saying it is not especially welcoming.
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