Appropriate Use: Generative AI
Be aware that these Generative AI tools contain functionality which allows the upload of pictures and files. It is the responsibility of the user not to upload content or enter prompts which may generate inappropriate or concerning text or imagery, or which contains any personal, sensitive or confidential information.
Please also refer to the Scottish Government’s AI Guidance for Schools when using any kind of AI tool within education.
Overview
Gems are transitioning to Skills in Gemini Education.
Skills will roll out to Google Workspace users and eventually replace Gems as the tool for tailoring instructions for specific tasks. Like Gems, skills are custom, reusable instructions that teach Gemini to handle repetitive tasks just like you would, so you don’t have to prompt from scratch every time. Skills have added functionalitythat can make them even more helpful.
This page will provide critical information regarding this transition, including keys dates, what happens with Gem content and what the benefits are.
What are Skills?
Skills are reusable, custom instructions that you can leverage any time you’re prompting Gemini in the Gemini app and most Workspace apps. For example, you can create a brand voice skill to help you draft blog posts or a lesson planning skill to save time with class prep. You can even use multiple skills in the same prompt or at different points in the conversation.
Whether you’re drafting course syllabi or a weekly newsletter, skills offer a more flexible evolution of Gems. You can now bake your tone, educational standards, and formatting right into your main Gemini chat for a seamless experience. You can even ask Gemini to help you build and refine new skills directly from your conversation.
How do Skills differ from Gems?
Unlike Gems, skills function inline in your unified chat threads, meaning you can layer or “stack” multiple sets of custom instructions simultaneously in one prompt. For example, an educator can combine a “weekly newsletter” skill with an “institutional brand guidelines” skill to ensure on-brand communications.
Timeline for Transition
Global rollout timeline: Skills are rolling out for Edu users starting October 13 and will be available to all Edu users in the coming weeks.
- Upcoming Gems to skills transition:
- November 17, 2026: Gems move to the Settings panel in the Gemini app. Workspace for Education users can continue to use Gems.
- June 1, 2027 or later: Gems automatically migrate to skills in the Gemini app for Edu users globally. After migration, users will need to review and activate the skills to begin using them.
- Updates to Gems in Classroom:
- June 1, 2027 or later: Gems will no longer be available in Classroom. Existing Gems in Classroom will automatically migrate to skills, which users will find as drafts in the Gemini app.
How can I prepare for this change?
Gemini App users
Google recommend users start to adopt skills. If they’d like to benefit from skills capabilities as soon as possible, users can rebuild high-priority Gems as skills by copying instructions and re-uploading knowledge files. Otherwise, an automated migration of Gems to skills will happen in 2027.
Classroom users
Skills are not designed to be sandboxed, “teacher-led” AI experiences as they are dynamic custom instructions. This is why skills will not be available natively in Classroom; instead, Google encourage users to use other teacher-led AI tools in these surfaces. Please see the transition guide for educators for extra support regarding this advice.
Support Resources
Additional useful links:
- Blogs: Workspace Updates blog, News from Google blog
- Help Centre: Admin HC, Gemini HC, Classroom HC
- Transition Guide: Gemini Gems and Skills Transition Guide
- Help Centre: gems to skills