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Adios, Gems: Google’s new Gemini skills won’t be paywalled
pcworld.com Oct 1, 2026

Adios, Gems: Google’s new Gemini skills won’t be paywalled

Curated by · TechCapsules ·

AI-summarised brief · reviewed before publication

Google announced that its Gemini “Gems” chatbots will be retired in November, with all personal Gems automatically converted into the newer “skills” feature. Skills, previously limited to the paid Gemini Spark assistant, can now be used by any Gemini user over 18 with a personal Google account. The upgrade adds missing Gem capabilities such as sharing skills, attaching Google Drive files, and linking Gemini Notebooks, and allows skills to be invoked inside any chat by typing “/”. Workspace business, enterprise, non‑profit and education accounts will retain Gems until 2027. The change follows OpenAI’s recent decision to discontinue custom GPTs, signaling a broader shift toward modular AI extensions across major platforms. Google confirmed users may also trigger the conversion manually if preferred, and the new skill framework supports nesting, enabling one skill to call another for complex workflows. The November sunset applies only to personal accounts; Workspace education Gems persist until June 2027, while other enterprise Gems remain active through March 2027. By opening skills to free users, Google aims to democratize custom AI creation without a subscription barrier globally now.

💡 Why It Matters

  • · Free access to Gemini skills lets everyday users build bespoke AI tools, rapidly expanding personalized automation beyond paid subscribers.
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