Gemini adds skills: run reusable instructions with a slash

What happened: On September 30, Google announced "skills" in the Gemini app and in Google Workspace. A skill is a saved instruction you write once and reuse — in chat you just type a slash and the skill's name. Unlike Gems, several skills can be stacked together and you can attach reference files (text documents, PDFs, images). Skills start reaching Workspace on October 5 and the Gemini app on October 13, with the rollout expected to finish in mid-November. Skills will gradually replace Gems: for personal accounts in November 2026, for business Workspace accounts no earlier than March 2027, for education in June 2027. Existing Gems will be converted to skills automatically.

What it means for you: Until now you typically had one "assistant" (a Gem) per activity. Skills work more like building blocks:

• A "company communication style" skill — tone, greeting, signature, things never to write
• A "weekly report" skill — structure: results, risks, next steps
• When you then write a client report, you call both at once: "/weekly-report /communication-style — prepare a report from these notes"

The advantage is that you maintain the rules in one place. Change the tone of voice and it shows up everywhere the skill is used. A team can also share skills, so a newcomer writes in the same style as everyone else.

How to start:

1. Go through your current Gems and pick the ones you really use. Let the rest fade out.
2. Once skills appear for you (in the Gemini app or in Workspace, for example in Docs), create your first skill from your most common repeated instruction.
3. Split big instructions into small modules — one skill, one task. They combine better that way.
4. Attach a reference file to a skill, such as a sample report or a brand guide.
5. Treat skill output as a draft: AI proposes, you review and approve before the text goes out.

Watch out for: Availability differs by account type. In Workspace, skills support the Business and Enterprise editions (Starter, Standard, Plus), for schools the Google AI Pro for Education add-on, and also the AI Expanded Access add-on; in Workspace they are intended for users 18 and over. A domain admin can enable or disable skills in the admin console, so if you can't see them, ask your admin. Do not put personal data, client data or internal documents into skills or their attached files without your company's approval, and anonymize sensitive information first. For exact prices and terms see Google's paid plans. The scope may still shift before mid-November — check Google's help pages.