Google brings reusable skills to Gemini in Workspace and starts retiring Gems
Google said on 30 September 2026 that skills, reusable instructions that guide Gemini, are coming to the Gemini app and most Workspace apps and will replace Gems. The rollout in Workspace starts on 5 October 2026.
What Google announced
Skills are reusable, custom instructions you can call whenever you prompt Gemini in the Gemini app or in most Workspace apps. Unlike Gems, they work inside the same chat, and several can be stacked in one prompt. Google's own business example pairs a vendor evaluator skill with an executive email drafter skill, so Gemini compares vendors and drafts the recommendation in one step.
Skills use the open, Markdown-based SKILL.md format, so instructions written for other AI tools can be copied in. Teams can build and share skills from Google Docs. For now, skills do not sync between the Gemini app and Workspace, so a skill used in both has to be created twice.
Gems keep working for the moment, but new Workspace Studio flows can no longer use the Ask a Gem step. Gems move to the settings panel of the Gemini app on 17 November 2026, and business and enterprise users lose them no sooner than 1 March 2027, when any remaining Gems are converted to draft skills.
What it means for B2B sales teams
Many sales teams built Gems for account research, call preparation or follow-up emails. Those prompts now have an end date. A small set of shared skills is the natural replacement: one for your ideal customer profile and positioning, one for discovery notes, one for follow-ups in your tone of voice. Because skills stack, a rep can combine them in one prompt instead of pasting the same context again and again.
The SKILL.md format matters as well. The same instruction files can be used in other AI tools that read the format, which makes it cheaper to keep one sales playbook consistent across the tools your team uses.
What to do now
- List the Gems your sales team relies on and decide which ones are worth keeping.
- Rewrite the important ones as skills when the rollout reaches your domain, and share them with the team from Google Docs.
- Check Workspace Studio flows that use the Ask a Gem step, because they stop working when Gems are retired.
- A skill is only as good as the sales playbook behind it: if your ICP and messaging are not written down, start there.
Sources
- Introducing skills in the Gemini app and Workspace, plus what's next for Gems Google Workspace Updates, September 30, 2026
By Emre A. · Published