When Skills reach your Workspace, pick one Gem you already use for a recurring review. Recreate it as a skill in the Docs skill builder or the Gemini app, run it on one real thread, and keep the Gem until the skill matches. Finish with a keep-or-drop decision on that Gem.
For building a Gem from scratch, see Create a Gemini Gem for a review you repeat.
Steps follow Google's Workspace Updates post on skills and Gems and the Gemini skills blog, checked 12 October 2026. The Friday status example is made up.
When do Skills appear for you?
Google's 30 September 2026 Workspace Updates post says Skills roll out gradually. On Rapid Release domains, Workspace Skills start from 5 October 2026 and aim to finish around 12 October. Scheduled Release domains start from 19 October 2026 and aim for mid-November. Skills in the Gemini app start from 13 October 2026, also aiming for mid-November. If the skill builder or / commands are missing, your domain hasn't got them yet, so wait.
Skills are reusable instructions you invoke by typing / and the skill name, and you can stack several in one prompt. Google says they will replace Gems. From 17 November 2026, Gems move to the Settings panel but still work. On business and enterprise accounts they can't be created, edited or used from no sooner than 1 March 2027, and on education accounts from no sooner than 1 June 2027. Remaining Gems in the Gemini app are then auto-migrated to draft skills, and Google will give admins the details at least 30 days beforehand. On personal Google accounts, Google's blog says Gems support ends in November 2026. Sharing skills, Drive files and Gemini notebooks are still listed as coming in the following weeks, so a skill may not yet do everything your Gem does.
Pick one Gem you already use
Choose a Gem you run for a recurring review, not a rarely opened experiment. Open its instructions and any Knowledge files. Copy the instruction text somewhere you can paste from. One Gem is enough for this method. Leave a full Gem audit for later.
Skills do not sync between the Gemini app and Workspace. Create the skill in each place you need it.
Recreate it as a skill
In Workspace, use the Docs skill builder when it is available on your domain. In the Gemini app, create the skill there separately if you also run the review in chat. Paste the Gem's instructions into the skill, keep the job narrow, and save it with a name you will recognise. Attach a reference file only if the Gem needed one and Skills on your domain already support files.
Invoke with / and the skill name in the prompt bar, then paste or open the material you usually review.
Example: Friday status as a skill
Leah has a Gem called Friday status risk scan for her programme status notes. When Skills appear in her Workspace, she opens the Gem, copies the instructions and builds a matching skill in the Docs skill builder. She also creates the same skill in the Gemini app, because the two don't sync. She keeps the Gem until both skills match it on a real Friday note.
Sample status note for the first skill run:
Northbridge Payments Migration: Friday status. Build green. Test data still blocked from supplier; no new ETA in this note. Scheme certification raised again in the room; no owner named. Freeze date remains 3 October per last board pack. Steering wants a decision this week on whether the rehearsal slips. Comms pack not attached.
A matching skill keeps the supplier block, flags the missing certification owner, and lists the absent estimate and communications pack. If it softens the block or invents an owner, revise the skill text and try again.
Persona: You are a cautious programme risk reviewer for Friday status notes.
Task: Read the pasted status note. List material risks and any missing facts a steering reader would need. Do not invent owners, dates, figures or decisions. If something is unclear, put it under Missing facts.
Context: The paste is this week's status only. Treat red or blocked items as still red unless the note says they closed. Do not soften blockers into delays.
Format:
1. Risks (bullet list: risk, evidence from the note, severity as written or unknown)
2. Missing facts (bullet list)
3. One-line confidence note on how complete the paste was
British English. Short sentences. No encouragement, no invented next steps.Run once, then keep or drop
Run the skill on one real thread or status note you would have sent to the Gem. Compare the skill output with the Gem output on the same paste: risks still red, missing facts still named, no invented owners or dates. If they match, mark the Gem keep until your team is ready to switch, or drop it when everyone uses the skill. If they diverge, revise the skill before you retire the Gem. How to check AI output at work covers the wider habit.
Sources
Introducing skills in the Gemini app and Workspace, plus what's next for Gems, Google Workspace Updates, 30 September 2026. Skills vs Gems, no sync between app and Workspace, Docs skill builder, Workspace and Gemini app rollout windows, Gems move to Settings on 17 November 2026, Gems until no sooner than March 2027 (business and enterprise) or June 2027 (education), auto-migrate with 30 days' notice. Primary source. Checked 12 October 2026.
Let skills in Gemini tackle your most repetitive tasks, Google blog, 30 September 2026. Slash invoke, stacking skills, reference files, sharing and Drive files coming in following weeks, Gems support ending November 2026 for personal accounts, auto-migrate when Gems go away. Primary source. Checked 12 October 2026.