← Blog · 2026-10-31 · 6 min read

How to save a prompt in Gemini with Skills (free, easy)

What it does for you: If you keep typing the same thing into Gemini, like "use short sentences, big-picture first, no jargon," you can now save it once as a skill. Next time, type / and pick it from the list, and Gemini follows those instructions without you retyping a word. Gemini can also use a skill on its own when your question matches it (Google Help).

Skills are free. Google's help page says they work without a paid Google AI plan (Google Help). They began rolling out in the Gemini app in mid-October and should reach everyone by mid-November (Google Workspace Admin Help).

What you need

• A personal Google account (a regular Gmail account is fine), signed in to Gemini.
• You must be 18 or older.
• Keep Activity turned on in Gemini (more on what that means under "Honest limits").
• Gemini on the web at gemini.google.com, the Gemini phone app, or the Gemini app on a Mac (Google Help).

Work and school accounts get skills later.

The easy way: just ask Gemini to make one

You don't need any menus for this. Open a chat and type what you want the skill to do. Start your message with "Create a skill" so Gemini knows to save it:

Gemini saves it to your Skills page. Want to change it? Just say so in the same chat, for example "Make the plain-english skill also use bigger headings" (Google Help).

Skill names are lowercase with dashes between words, like plain-english or polite-reply.

Use it: type a slash

1. Start a new chat.
2. Type / in the box. A list of your skills pops up. (Google says this is changing to @ soon, so try that if the slash does nothing.)
3. Pick your skill, then type your question as usual:

That's it. You can even pick two skills in one message, like a writing style skill plus a "polite email" skill (Google).

Prefer buttons? The Skills page

On a computer, go to gemini.google.com, click Customize in the sidebar (if you don't see it, click More first), then click Skills at the top. From there you can start from one of Google's ready-made templates, start blank, edit a skill, turn one off, or delete one. Deleting can't be undone, and you can only delete from this page, not from a chat (Google Help).

4 starter skills worth saving

Copy any of these into a Gemini chat. Change the details in [brackets] to fit you.

My email voice:

Weekly meals on a budget:

Is this a scam?

Doctor visit prep:

These match some of our free drills, so you can practice the idea first: check a scam message, questions for a doctor visit, and plan dinner from what's in the fridge.

Using Gems? Here's what changes

Gems were Google's older way of saving custom instructions. Skills are replacing them. For personal accounts (18+):

• November 17, 2026: your Gems are turned into skills automatically and the old Gems become read-only. You can still look at them, but not use or edit them.
• December 17, 2026: Gems are removed for good.

Most files you added to a Gem carry over, but audio files, video files and GitHub files don't, and a skill can hold up to 100 MB of files in total. If a Gem holds a file you care about, download it before December 17 (Google Help).

Honest limits

• Skills need Keep Activity on. That setting saves your Gemini chats to your account. Google says some chats are read by trained human reviewers, and asks you not to enter confidential information you wouldn't want a reviewer to see (Gemini Apps Privacy Hub). So don't put passwords, account numbers or your Social Security number into a skill or a chat.
• A skill is just saved instructions. It doesn't make Gemini smarter or more accurate. Check names, numbers, dates and anything about health, money or the law.
• Automatic use can surprise you. Gemini may apply a skill you didn't ask for if your question looks related. If that bugs you, turn the skill off from the Skills page, and Gemini will only use it when you pick it (Google Help).
• Menus may look different. Google is still rolling this out, and button names move. If you can't find something, ask Gemini in a chat: "Show me how to see my skills."
• Using ChatGPT instead? It has something similar called custom instructions (Settings, then Personalization), which applies to every chat rather than one skill at a time.

Want ready-made instructions to save?

The hardest part of a good skill is knowing what to tell the AI. The Life Scripts Starter pack ($9) has 40 fill-in-the-blank scripts for money, work, health and home moments, and any of them can become a skill. Or start free with the daily drills.

Sources

• Create & manage skills for Gemini Apps (Google Help): requirements (18+, signed in, Keep Activity on), where skills work, creating from a chat or the Skills page, the slash shortcut, turning off and deleting skills, free without a subscription.
• About the transition from Gems to skills (Google Help): Nov 17 and Dec 17, 2026 dates, what files carry over, 100 MB limit, slash changing to @.
• Automate repetitive tasks with Skills (Google): slash to run, stacking skills, available on all tiers.
• About the transition from Gems to skills (Google Workspace Admin Help): Gemini app rollout began Oct 13, 2026, completing by mid-November.
• Gemini Apps Privacy Hub (Google): human review and Keep Activity.