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Moving from Gemini Gems to skills: where your instructions go

Updated: November 7, 2026 · By Brian Arrington (Founder, AI Consultant and Business Coach)

If you built Gems on a personal Google account, Google is changing how they work this month. The good news: the instructions you wrote still matter. They just move to a new home called skills. Here is what changes, when, and where each part of your Gem goes. Migration details come from Google's help pages, listed in Sources. Our own persona test is described separately.

The short answer

On personal Google accounts (18 or over), Gems become read only on November 17, 2026 and are removed from Gemini Apps on December 17, 2026. Google will transition your Gems to skills for you when Gems go away, or you can recreate one now by copying the Gem name, description and instructions into a new skill. Unzip reference archives and add only supported files.

The dates that matter (personal Google accounts)

Google sums it up this way: "Starting in November 2026, Gems will transition to skills in Gemini Apps for personal Google Accounts, and in 2027, for work and school accounts. Check when Gems are going away." [1]

For personal accounts, 18 or over:

Other accounts:

Work and school accounts: Google's Workspace admin help says Gems move to Settings on November 17, 2026, and users can continue to create, edit and use them. Removal is no sooner than March 1, 2027 for business and enterprise, or June 1, 2027 for education. [5]

What "read only" means on November 17 (personal accounts)

For personal accounts where you are 18 or over, Google's words are that you can still access your Gems, but you can't use or edit them, or create new ones [1]. So you can still open a Gem and copy its instructions. You just can't chat with it or change it. On a personal account, if you want to keep working the same way after November 17, your instructions need to live in a skill.

Where your Gem instructions go now

Google's recreate steps are simple. Here is the path for one Gem [1]:

  1. Keep your Gem open. Google says: "Keep the browser tab with your Gem open and continue to Step 2."
  2. Then: "Open a new browser tab." Go to gemini.google.com and start a new skill from the Skills area, choosing to create it manually.
  3. Move the words over: "Copy and paste the name, description, and instructions from your Gem to your skill."
  4. Finish it: "When you’re done, at the top, click Create." A new skill uses Create. Save is for editing a skill later [2].
  5. Test it in a chat. Google says to "enter / (or @, if you have the updated shortcut)" followed by selecting the skill [2].
  6. Optional: add supported files, keeping the total under Google's cap. "A skill can have up to 100 MB of files." [1]

Your instructions box is the heart of the Gem. That text is what tells the skill what job to do, so copy it in full.

What to do with Knowledge files

If your Gem has Knowledge files you still need, download them. Google says: "For personal Google accounts, you can download your files from Gems before December 17, 2026. After this, your Gems and their files will no longer be available in Gemini Apps." [1]

Some files will not come along. Google's list [1]: "Some file types are not supported in skills. When we transition your Gems to skills, these unsupported file types will not be included:"

A practical tip: if your reference files sit inside a .zip or other archive, unzip it on your computer and add only supported files. Unzipping does not make unsupported file types usable. Archives are not supported as skill knowledge files.

There is one separate case. Google's create-skills page lets you upload a whole skill package: "Select a SKILL.md file, or select a folder or .zip file that contains a SKILL.md file in its main folder." [2] That .zip is the skill itself, with SKILL.md inside. It is not a way to add a zipped folder of reference files.

Will Google move my Gems for me?

Yes. Google says: "Yes, we’ll automatically transition your Gems to skills for you when Gems go away. If you prefer, you can also manually recreate your Gems as skills." [1]

The automatic move brings supported files with it. Unsupported file types are left out. And if a Gem is over the size limit, Google says it removes the largest files first until it fits [1].

So why recreate one by hand? Because the automatic move happens when Gems go away, and on a personal account, your Gems become read only before that. If you rely on a Gem every day, recreating it now means you can keep using it as a skill without a gap.

How a BotPlaybooks persona fits

BotPlaybooks personas work in Gemini. In Brian Arrington's November 7, 2026 test, the CEO persona followed its instructions closely as a Gemini skill on gemini.google.com using a Google Workspace account. Google's consumer help says skills are available to personal Google accounts over 18 and work and school support is coming later [1]. Its Workspace admin help says skills in the Gemini app began rolling out to Workspace users on October 13, 2026, with rollout completing by mid-November [5]. Check what your account shows. Brian's test is a single-account observation, not a guarantee for other accounts. A Gem's instructions and a skill's instructions are both plain written instructions. A BotPlaybooks persona is the same kind of thing: a ready-made job description you copy and paste into your AI agent. You paste it into your agent's instructions, then send the first task that comes with it.

Take the agent called "Chief", our Chief of Staff persona [3]. Its public page lists the parts any good set of instructions needs:

Whether you are moving a Gem or writing new instructions from scratch, those are the parts to cover: role, inputs, workflow, output and guardrails. Our setup guide includes Gemini [4]. Use the instructions field in a Gem while Gems are available on your account, or in a skill as your account transitions. Test on a real task and review every output.

FAQ

When do Gemini Gems become read only on personal accounts?

On November 17, 2026, for personal Google accounts where you are 18 or over. Google says Gems transition to skills that day and become read only. You can still access your Gems, but you can't use or edit them, or create new ones. If you are under 18, Google says your transition comes at a later date.

When are Gemini Gems removed from Gemini Apps?

On December 17, 2026, for personal Google accounts where you are 18 or over. Download files you still need before then. Google says under-18 accounts transition later. Google's consumer help lists Workspace business, enterprise and non-profit accounts in March 2027 [1]. Its Workspace admin help specifies no sooner than March 1, 2027 for business and enterprise, and no sooner than June 1, 2027 for education [5].

Where do my Gem instructions go in a skill?

Into the new skill's instructions. Google's steps: keep the browser tab with your Gem open, open a new browser tab, then copy and paste the name, description and instructions from your Gem to your skill. When you are done, click Create at the top of the skill. Then test it in a chat by typing / and selecting the skill.

Can I use a .zip file with a Gemini skill?

It depends on what is inside. Archives are not supported as knowledge files, so unzip them and add only supported files. Separately, Google's create-skills page describes uploading a .zip containing SKILL.md in its main folder as a skill package, not as a reference archive. That does not mean BotPlaybooks supplies Gemini skill packages.

Will Google turn my Gems into skills automatically?

Yes. Google says it will automatically transition your Gems to skills when Gems go away, along with any supported files. Unsupported file types are left out, and if a Gem is over the 100 MB limit, the largest files are removed first. You can also recreate a Gem as a skill yourself if you want to use it sooner.

Can I paste a BotPlaybooks persona into a Gemini skill?

Yes. BotPlaybooks personas work in Gemini. In Brian Arrington's November 7, 2026 test, the CEO persona followed its instructions closely as a Gemini skill on gemini.google.com using a Google Workspace account. Google's consumer help says skills are available to personal Google accounts over 18 and work and school support is coming later [1]. Its Workspace admin help says skills in the Gemini app began rolling out to Workspace users on October 13, 2026, with rollout completing by mid-November [5]. Check what your account shows. Brian's test is a single-account observation, not a guarantee for other accounts. Paste the persona into the instructions field, test it on a real task and review every output.

Give your agent a job today

Every persona drafts. You approve anything sent, posted or paid. AI can make mistakes. Always review outputs before acting. Personas are templates, not legal, financial, tax, medical or HR advice.

BotPlaybooks is independent and not affiliated with Google, Meta, OpenAI, xAI, Nous Research, OpenClaw or any agent platform.

Which Gem are you moving first?

Sources

Checked November 7, 2026.

  1. Google, About the transition from Gems to skills: https://support.google.com/gemini/answer/18560919?hl=en
  2. Google, Create and manage skills: https://support.google.com/gemini/answer/17094296?hl=en
  3. BotPlaybooks, Chief: Chief of Staff: https://botplaybooks.com/personas/chief-of-staff
  4. BotPlaybooks, setup guide: https://botplaybooks.com/setup
  5. Google Workspace Help, About the transition from Gems to skills: https://knowledge.workspace.google.com/admin/generative-ai/gemini-app/about-the-transition-to-skills