# Gemini Skills Are Rolling Out in the Gemini App: What Happens to Your Gems, and When

> Skills started rolling out in the Gemini app on Oct 13, 2026; the Workspace launch is delayed. What skills are, what happens to Gems, and the dates.

Source: https://learn.ynteractive.com/news/2026-10-20-gemini-skills-rollout-gems · Updated 2026-10-20 · Free from Stepthrough (https://learn.ynteractive.com)

By [Robert Breen](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/about) · Published October 20, 2026 · Gemini news

The instructions your team saved as Gems are moving to skills, so start writing new reusable instructions as skills and keep a copy of every Gem you rely on.

## What happened

On October 13, 2026, Google said skills, reusable custom instructions you can use any time you prompt Gemini, have started a gradual rollout in the Gemini app, with completion expected by mid-November 2026. The launch of skills in Workspace Studio and the Workspace apps, first set for October 5, is delayed until further notice while Google works to launch it safely. Google says sharing Gemini app skills and a Google Drive integration are coming in the following weeks, and skills you make in the Gemini app do not sync with Workspace. Gems keep working for now and move to the Settings panel of the Gemini app on November 17, 2026; they will eventually be removed, with remaining Gems migrated to draft skills. For business and enterprise customers removal is no sooner than March 1, 2027 (June 1, 2027 for education), and admins get at least 30 days’ notice before the migration. Source: [Google Workspace Updates: An update on the launch of skills in the Gemini app and Workspace](https://workspaceupdates.googleblog.com/2026/10/an-update-on-launch-of-skills-in-gemini-app-and-workspace.html) (October 13, 2026).

## Who gets it, and what it costs

- **Gemini app:** all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google accounts, as the rollout reaches them by mid-November 2026.
- **Workspace apps (when it launches):** Business Starter, Standard and Plus; Enterprise Starter, Standard and Plus; and the Google AI Pro for Education and AI Expanded Access add-ons. Workspace skills are for users over 18.
- **Gems:** still usable; you can no longer add an "Ask a Gem" step to new Workspace Studio flows, but existing flows keep working.

Google lists no separate price for skills. They come with the Gemini app and the Workspace plans above.

## What it means for an office team

The basic case is the Gem your team uses for one recurring job, such as "write the client recap in our format". Make a list this week of the Gems people actually use, copy each one’s instructions into a document, and build the next one as a skill once it shows up in your Gemini app.

Do not rush to delete Gems. They keep working, move to Settings on November 17, and business accounts will not lose them before March 1, 2027.

## Try it: the stepthrough

Practice the choice behind this news: when a saved set of instructions (a Gem, now a skill) is the right tool, versus a ChatGPT Project or a Gemini Notebook.

[Start the 26-step practice](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/projects-vs-gems-vs-notebooks)

**ChatGPT Projects vs Gemini Gems vs Gemini Notebook: Which to Use**, about 9 minutes. You do each step yourself in a practice copy; nothing touches your real accounts. [Open full screen](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/projects-vs-gems-vs-notebooks) · [Read the steps](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/chatgpt-projects-vs-gemini-gems-vs-notebooklm)

### The 26 steps

1. Start a new project
2. Name the project
3. Create it
4. Open Sources
5. Add the files
6. Upload
7. Upload all three
8. Ask the test question
9. Send it and read the answer
10. Open the Gem editor
11. Name the Gem
12. Give it one job
13. Add knowledge
14. Upload files
15. Upload all three
16. Ask the same question in the Preview
17. Send it and read the answer
18. Open Gemini Notebook
19. Create a notebook
20. Upload files
21. Upload all three
22. Ask the same question
23. Send it and read the answer
24. Check a citation
25. Open the cheat sheet
26. And a knowledge base?

## Related lessons and courses

- [ChatGPT Projects vs Gemini Gems vs Gemini Notebook: Which to Use](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/chatgpt-projects-vs-gemini-gems-vs-notebooklm) (the practice on this page)
- [ChatGPT Projects vs Gemini Gems vs Gemini Notebook: Which to Use](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/chatgpt-projects-vs-gemini-gems-vs-notebooklm)
- [What Are Claude Skills? Turn One On and Watch It Work](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/what-are-claude-skills)
- [Gemini in Gmail: Summarize a Thread and Draft the Reply](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/gemini-in-gmail-summarize-and-reply)

## Sources

- [Google Workspace Updates: An update on the launch of skills in the Gemini app and Workspace](https://workspaceupdates.googleblog.com/2026/10/an-update-on-launch-of-skills-in-gemini-app-and-workspace.html) (October 13, 2026)
- [Google Workspace Updates: Introducing skills in the Gemini app and Workspace, plus what’s next for Gems](https://workspaceupdates.googleblog.com/2026/09/skills-gemini-app-workspace.html) (September 30, 2026)
- [Google Workspace Updates: Weekly Recap, October 16, 2026](https://workspaceupdates.googleblog.com/2026/10/weekly-recap-10-16-2026.html) (October 16, 2026)

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