Gemini Gems going away: dates and how to move them to skills

Gemini Gems are going away. On November 17, 2026, Google turns Gems into skills for personal accounts, and your original Gems become read-only. On December 17, 2026, they are removed entirely. Google's help page on the transition says the move happens automatically, but files over the limits will not come along, so it pays to check before the deadline.

This guide is for anyone with Gems they still use. By the end you will know the dates for your account type, what carries over, and how to move a Gem by hand if you don't want to wait.

Dates for Gems going away

Read-only means you can view a Gem but not use it, edit it or create a new one. Google also says Opal and Gems by Google Labs will be discontinued in November 2026. These dates are as of November 5, 2026, from Google's help page.

What carries over, and what doesn't

Google says Gems transition to skills automatically, along with supported files. These do not transfer:

• Files beyond 100 MB per skill. The largest files are dropped first.
• GitHub files, audio and video.
• Legacy Office formats (.doc, .xls, .ppt).
• Archives (.zip, .tar, .7z, .rar, .gz, .tgz).

Download your Gem's Knowledge files before December 17, because after that personal accounts lose access to them.

Skills also differ from Gems. A skill does not yet work with Canvas, Deep Research, Guided Learning, or video and music creation, and most default Gem tools are missing. You can have 100 active skills at once. Google says that in the coming weeks skills will gain sharing and adding files from Google Drive and Gemini Notebook, so link sharing is not available today.

How to move a Gem to a skill yourself

These are the steps from Google's help page. File upload for skills is available only in the Gemini web app and the Gemini Mac app.

1. Open the Gem's edit view and download every file under Knowledge.
2. Put the files in a folder named after the skill, in lowercase with hyphens, for example sample-skill-name.
3. In Gemini, go to Customize, then Skills, then Create, then Create manually.
4. Copy the Gem's name, description and instructions into the form and click Create.
5. If you have files, download the new skill's .zip. It contains a SKILL.md file. Move that file into your folder.
6. Use Replace skill and upload the folder. The folder name must match the skill name.

Google's advice for the instructions: say when the skill should be used, keep it short, and add examples.

Who can use skills

Skills are available in Gemini chat to people over 18 signed in to a personal Google account. Work and school accounts get them later. The help page does not mention a paid plan requirement, though 9to5Google reported that the notice inside the app pointed Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers to skills in the Gemini Spark tab, so check your own account.

Skills in Google Workspace apps are separate: Google's Workspace Updates blog says that rollout is delayed until further notice, while the Gemini app rollout continues toward mid-November.

Common problems

If a migrated skill misses a tool you relied on, it is probably one of the tools that skills don't support yet. Keep your original Gem text until you have tested the skill, because the Gem stays viewable until December 17.