For most Google Workspace businesses, Gemini’s big news this month is not a new feature. It is a retirement. Google is replacing Gems, the saved assistants many teams have built for proposals, policies and replies, with skills.
The timeline is now published, the first step lands on 17 November, and business accounts lose Gems altogether from no sooner than 1 March 2027. Nothing breaks this month. But anything nobody looks after will quietly stop working next year.
Entries are numbered so the checklist can point to them.
If you only have 2 minutes
- 1Gems are being retired. Business accounts can no longer use them from no sooner than 1 March 2027.
- 2They move on 17 November. Gems go into Settings in the Gemini app. They still work; people just will not find them where they were.
- 3Skills replace them. Skills are rolling out in the Gemini app now, finishing mid-November, for every Workspace customer.
- 4Migration is not automatic in practice. Leftover Gems become draft skills that arrive switched off until someone checks them.
- 5Skills in Gmail, Docs and Drive are delayed. No new date yet, so plan around the Gemini app for now.
Checklist
Do first
- List the Gems your team uses, and who owns each one · Now · see 1
- Tell your team Gems are moving into Settings · Before 17 November · see 1
- Rebuild the important Gems as skills and test them on real work · Before March 2027 · see 2
- Replace any “Ask a Gem” steps in Workspace Studio flows · Before March 2027 · see 3
When you have time
Gems to skills
1.Gems are being retired, and the dates are set
Who: Everyone using Gemini; business and enterprise accounts first · Rollout: 17 November 2026, then no sooner than 1 March 2027 · Where: Gemini app and Workspace Studio
On 17 November, Gems move into Settings in the Gemini app. People can still create, edit and use them there.
From no sooner than 1 March 2027, business and enterprise users can no longer create, edit or use Gems. They leave Settings, any “Ask a Gem” steps in flows stop working, and remaining Gems are migrated to draft skills. Education accounts follow from no sooner than 1 June 2027.
Google says it will publish full migration details at least 30 days before migration starts.
Why this matters
Most businesses have a few Gems that quietly hold real know-how: how you write a proposal, answer a policy question or reply to a complaint. Those need a person to look after them, not an automatic migration.
- In plain words: Gems are going. Skills replace them. You have until March, but the first change is this month.
- A real-world example: A property manager in Napier has a Gem that drafts replies to tenants using the company’s maintenance policy. Nobody remembers who built it. It is used every day.
- Our take: Do the inventory now while it is a ten-minute job. Find the Gems people actually use, give each an owner, and put the rest out of their misery.
- Now
Gems and skills side by side
- 17 Nov 2026
Gems move into Settings
- From 1 Mar 2027
Gems stop; leftovers become draft skills, switched off
Google Workspace Admin Help: About the transition from Gems to skills
2.What the automatic migration does, and does not, do
Who: Anyone who built a Gem · Rollout: From no sooner than 1 March 2027 · Where: Gemini app
Migrated Gems arrive as inactive drafts. Their creator has to review and activate each skill before it can be used or shared.
Names, descriptions, instructions and knowledge files carry over, and sharing and Drive permissions transfer. But skills do not sync between the Gemini app and Workspace, so a skill you want in both places has to be recreated in Workspace Studio.
Why this matters
A Gem whose creator has left, or is on leave, will arrive switched off and stay that way.
- In plain words: Your Gems will be copied across, but switched off until someone checks them.
- A real-world example: A recruitment firm in Auckland had a Gem built by a contractor who finished in July. Under migration, it becomes a draft nobody can activate without access to that account.
- Our take: Do not wait for the migration. Rebuild the important ones yourself: copy the instructions, re-upload the files, test them on real work. Keep the master copy of the instructions in a Google Doc your business owns.
Google Workspace Admin Help: About the transition from Gems to skills
3.“Ask a Gem” steps in Workspace Studio flows
Who: Anyone with Workspace Studio flows · Rollout: Now for new flows; existing flows until Gems retire · Where: Workspace Studio
New flows can no longer add an “Ask a Gem” step. Existing flows keep working until Gems are retired, then those steps stop.
Why this matters
An automation that leans on a Gem will break on the day Gems go, often without anyone noticing straight away.
- In plain words: Automations that use a Gem need changing before next year.
- A real-world example: A tradie business uses a flow that sends each new enquiry through a Gem to draft a first reply. On the day Gems go, enquiries stop getting replies.
- Our take: Ask whoever set up your flows to list any that use a Gem, and swap them over while there is no deadline pressure.
Google Workspace Admin Help: About the transition from Gems to skills
Skills
4.Skills in the Gemini app
Who: All Google Workspace customers and personal accounts · Rollout: From 13 October, finishing mid-November · Where: Gemini app
Skills are rolling out in the Gemini app for all Google Workspace customers and personal Google accounts, and to users of all ages. There are no admin controls for skills in the Gemini app.
Google says sharing skills and a Google Drive integration are coming in the following weeks.
Why this matters
Anyone can create a skill, and admins cannot switch them off. That makes a shared way of working more important than usual.
- In plain words: Saved, reusable instructions for Gemini, available to everyone.
- A real-world example: Two people in the same office build two different “write a newsletter” skills, with two different tones. Customers notice before the team does.
- Our take: Agree a few simple rules: who builds skills for the team, where the instructions live, and who checks them before they are shared.
Describe it in plain language
Owner
Ops lead
Shared with
Sales team
Checked
Yes
Google Workspace Updates: An update on the launch of skills in the Gemini app and Workspace
5.Skills in Gmail, Docs and Drive are delayed
Who: Workspace admins · Rollout: Was October; delayed until further notice · Where: Google Workspace
Skills inside Workspace were due to finish rolling out to Rapid Release domains by 12 October and start on Scheduled Release from 19 October. Google has delayed them with no new date.
When they arrive, they cover Business Starter, Standard and Plus and Enterprise editions, and admins will be able to turn them on or off. They are limited to users over 18.
Why this matters
You will set skills up once in the Gemini app now, and again inside Workspace later.
- In plain words: Skills inside your everyday Google apps are coming, but not yet.
- A real-world example: Nothing to do yet for most businesses.
- Our take: Plan around the Gemini app for now. We will update this when Google sets a date.
Google Workspace Updates: An update on the launch of skills in the Gemini app and Workspace
Watching next month
- Google’s full migration details, due at least 30 days before migration starts
- A new date for skills in Workspace
- Sharing skills and the Google Drive integration in the Gemini app
How this issue was put together
We read Google’s Workspace Updates blog and admin help pages, and only include changes with a date, a cost or something you need to do.
Every fact links to its source. The examples are made-up New Zealand businesses, not clients. The figures are our own illustrations, not Google screenshots.