Guide
Gemini Gems vs Claude skills: Gems are becoming skills
Google is replacing Gemini Gems with skills. On personal Google accounts (18 and over), Gems become read-only on 17 November 2026 and are removed on 17 December 2026; Workspace business, enterprise and non-profit accounts follow in March 2027, education in June 2027. Google recreates each Gem as a skill automatically. The difference matters: a Gem is an assistant you pick from a list and chat with, while a skill is a set of instructions loaded inside any chat, by name or automatically, and several can work together. Google's help says Gemini can import skills made on other platforms by uploading their SKILL.md files, and Claude uses the same open Agent Skills format. So a team that writes its methods as skills once can use them in Gemini and Claude alike.
Short answer
- 17 November 2026: personal Gems go read-only.
- 17 December 2026: personal Gems are removed.
- March and June 2027: work, then school accounts.
- Skills, which import SKILL.md files, replace them.
Side by side
| Gemini Gems | Gemini skills | Claude skills | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How you use it | Pick it from My Gems and chat with it | Type / and its name, or Gemini applies it when relevant | Claude loads it when a task matches |
| Several at once | Chat with the Gem you picked | Yes, stackable; up to 100 active | Yes |
| Files | Knowledge files from your device or Drive | Up to 100 MB; some types not supported | In the skill's folder |
| Format | Gemini only | SKILL.md; imports from other platforms | SKILL.md, the open Agent Skills standard |
| Sharing | Viewer or editor; admins can turn it off | Google says sharing is coming in the next weeks | Team and Enterprise owners provision skills to everyone |
| Available on | Being removed on the dates above | Personal accounts, 18 and over, now; work and school accounts later | Free, Pro, Max, Ultra, Team and Enterprise |
From Gemini Apps Help and the Claude Help Center, read 5 November 2026.
A worked example: moving three Gems early
Illustration: a made-up business. A freelance copywriter has three Gems on her personal account: a brand-voice Gem per client. She moves them before 17 November rather than waiting for the automatic move:
- Downloads each Gem's knowledge files. One client's style guide is a .doc file, a type skills don't take, so she saves it as .docx first.
- Creates a skill per Gem under Customize > Skills, pasting the Gem's name, description and instructions; the name becomes lowercase with hyphens, such as harbour-brand-voice.
- Rewrites each description to say when to use it: "Writes copy in Harbour Roasters' voice. Use when asked for Harbour posts, emails or product pages."
- Adds the files by downloading the skill's SKILL.md, putting it in a folder with the files, and uploading the folder. For now that works only in the Gemini Mac app and on gemini.google.com.
- Uploads the same folder, zipped, to Claude, where one client works, so both tools use one version.
Her test: "a post for Harbour's decaf launch" in a plain Gemini chat now loads the Harbour skill without her picking it.
What to do now
The dates for each kind of account and Google's steps to move a Gem, save its files and keep a SKILL.md copy are in Gemini Gems to skills before 17 November. To turn a Gem into a SKILL.md that Claude reads, paste it into the free Gemini Gem to skill converter.
Skills for this
- AI practiceTurn a prompt into a skillTurns a prompt that works into a skill the whole team can reuse, with a valid name, a when-to-use description, steps, an output template, an example, and checks.
- MarketingBrand voice guide and rewriteExtracts a voice guide from 3 to 5 sample texts (traits with do and don't pairs, a word list, mechanics) and rewrites a draft in it.
- AI practiceContext brief for an AI assistantWrites instructions for an AI assistant or agent: role, audience, can and can't, sources of truth, tools, format, examples, edge cases, and handoff.
Questions
What is the difference between Gemini Gems and Claude skills?
A Gem is a saved assistant you pick from a list and chat with; a skill is a set of instructions the AI loads inside any chat when a task matches. Google is now replacing Gems with skills that work much like Claude's: you can call one by name or let Gemini apply it, combine several in one chat, and import SKILL.md files made elsewhere.
When do Gemini Gems go away?
On personal Google accounts for people 18 and over, Gems become read-only on 17 November 2026 and are removed from Gemini on 17 December 2026, according to Google's help. Workspace business, enterprise and non-profit accounts follow in March 2027, and education accounts in June 2027. Google recreates Gems as skills automatically.
Can I use the same skill in Gemini and Claude?
Yes, if it's written in the SKILL.md format. Google's help says Gemini can import skills created on other platforms by uploading their SKILL.md files, and Claude uses the same open Agent Skills format. Check file limits: Gemini skills hold up to 100 MB of files, and some types, such as .doc or .zip, aren't supported.
AI skill
Have your AI turn a prompt that works into a skill your team can reuse
Put this skill in AI Skill Pod and everyone on your team gets it in their Claude, Cursor or ChatGPT (Pro, Business, Enterprise): one invite link, free to start. Turn a prompt into a skill turns a Gem's instructions, or any prompt that works, into a skill in the open format: a valid name, a when-to-use description, steps with your rules, an output template, an example and checks, ready to upload to Gemini or Claude.
14 days free · No card needed
Sources
- Gemini Apps Help: About the transition from Gems to skills — personal accounts 18 and over: Gems read-only from 17 November 2026, removed 17 December 2026; Workspace business, enterprise and non-profit in March 2027, education in June 2027; Gems recreated as skills automatically; skills used with / or automatically, stackable, up to 100 active, 100 MB of files; SKILL.md files from other platforms can be uploaded; some file types don't carry over (read 2026-11-05)
- Gemini Apps Help: Use Gems in Gemini Apps — you choose a Gem from "My Gems" to chat with it (read 2026-11-05)
- Gemini Apps Help: Share a Gem from Gemini Apps — viewer or editor access; shared Gems and their files are stored in Google Drive; Workspace admins can turn Gem sharing on or off (read 2026-11-05)
- Claude Help Center: What are skills? — Free, Pro, Max, Ultra, Team and Enterprise; Claude loads relevant skills; Team and Enterprise owners provision skills for everyone; the format is the open Agent Skills standard (read 2026-11-05)