Converter → Migration risks
What happens to Gems that cannot convert to skills
Google states plainly: "Skills work with some but not all features." Five Gemini features have no skill equivalent, migrated Gems arrive switched off, and Google Labs Gems are simply shut down with no replacement path.
If you read one thing on this page: migrated Gems appear as disabled drafts. The name, description, instructions and knowledge files are preserved, but Google does not activate them for you. Open every one, review it, and switch it on — otherwise it cannot be used or shared.
On this page
Gem features that do not carry over
| Feature | Status | What to do about it |
|---|---|---|
| Canvas | Not supported | Save canvas content before the shutdown. There is no skill equivalent, so export anything you want to keep. |
| Deep Research | Not supported | Call Deep Research directly rather than routing it through a Gem. |
| Create video | Not supported | Rebuild as a standalone workflow if your Gem scripted video generation. |
| Create music | Not supported | Rebuild as a standalone workflow if your Gem scripted music generation. |
| Guided learning | Not supported | Nothing to migrate — the mode is gone regardless. |
| Connected Apps | Supported | No action needed. |
| Workspace apps | Supported | No action needed. |
| Your knowledge files | Re-upload | Re-attach them to the new skill. There is no bulk conversion — files go up one at a time. |
This is a current gap, not a permanent limit. Google describes these as features that "do not work with Skills for now." Treat the list as something likely to shrink, and re-check before your migration rather than assuming it is fixed.
The disabled draft trap
A migrated Gem appears in your Skill list as an inactive draft. Google deliberately does not enable converted Skills for you.
What this means in practice: on November 18 you open Gemini, see your Gems gone, and the replacements all look greyed out. Nothing is broken. They simply need you to open each one, check the content survived, and switch it on.
Two consequences worth planning for:
- A skill you cannot see working is a skill you cannot trust. Leave yourself time after November 17 to test each one rather than checking them on the day.
- Sharing changes. A draft cannot be used or shared until it is activated, so if you had teammates using a shared Gem, they lose access until you enable it.
Google Labs Gems have no conversion path
Gems published by Google Labs — Gems you did not create yourself — are shut down in November with no stated conversion.
There is no skill that replaces them. If you relied on one, write down what it did while you still have access, then rebuild it yourself as a skill before November 17.
This is the least-documented item in the whole migration. Most coverage lists only the five unsupported features and the draft behaviour; very few mention that pre-built Gems simply disappear.
App and Workspace skills do not sync
Skills created in the Gemini app and Skills created in Google Workspace do not sync automatically. If you use both surfaces, you create the skill twice and manage them separately.
This is easy to miss because a Gem was visible from both sides. After the migration, a skill you create in the app is not the same object as a skill created in Workspace.
| Where you create it | Is it available on the other surface? |
|---|---|
| Gemini app | No — must be recreated in Workspace |
| Google Workspace | No — must be recreated in the app |
Plan for double the work if you use both. Write the skill once as a SKILL.md file and upload it in both places rather than retyping the content.
Your chat history changes
A Gem used to have its own page listing the chats you had with it. Skills do not.
Because a skill can be used in any chat, conversations that used a Gem now appear in the normal side panel. You lose the per-Gem grouping — the chats are not deleted, but they are scattered across your history.
If you relied on a Gem's chat page to find something specific, note which conversations matter before November 17.
Scripts cannot call external sites
Scripts inside a skill cannot make requests to external websites. If your Gem relied on calling an API, a webhook or any remote endpoint, that part breaks.
Workarounds:
- Bundle the data the script needs inside the skill folder instead of fetching it.
- Move the fetch outside the skill and pass results in as context.
- Use a Connected App for the integration where one exists — Connected Apps do work with skills.
What to do before November 17
- List every Gem you have with its name and a one-line description of what it does.
- Check each one against the table above. Any Gem using Canvas, Deep Research, video, music or Guided Learning needs rebuilding first.
- Find out if any are Google Labs Gems. If so, write down what it did and rebuild it yourself.
- Decide whether you use both the Gemini app and Workspace. If yes, plan to upload each skill twice.
- Check any scripts for external requests. Replace fetches with bundled data or a Connected App.
- Copy instructions to a document and download knowledge files. Ten minutes now removes the risk of losing work.
- Test each replacement skill before the date. Do not wait for the automatic migration to check.
- After November 17, open every draft and activate it. This step is mandatory and Google will not do it.
Account type changes the date. The October 13 and November 17, 2026 deadlines apply to personal accounts. Workspace business, enterprise and nonprofit accounts lose Gems in March 2027, and education accounts in June 2027. The Opal experiment shuts down in November 2026 alongside Gems.
FAQ
- Will my migrated Gem work after November 17?
- Partly. The name, description, instructions and knowledge files are preserved, but it arrives as a disabled draft you must activate, and anything using Canvas, Deep Research, video, music or Guided Learning does not carry over.
- Why is my skill not showing up in Gemini?
- The most common reason is that it is still an inactive draft. Google does not activate migrated Gems for you — open each one, review it and switch it on.
- What happens to Gems I did not create myself?
- Google Labs Gems are shut down in November 2026 with no stated conversion path. If you relied on one, document what it did and rebuild it as your own skill before the deadline.
- Do skills sync between the Gemini app and Workspace?
- No. Skills created in the Gemini app and Skills created in Google Workspace do not sync automatically. If you use both, create the skill twice — uploading the same SKILL.md file into each is faster than retyping.
- What happened to the chats that used my Gem?
- A Gem used to have its own page listing its chats. Skills do not, because a skill can be used in any chat. The conversations appear in the normal side panel instead, so you lose the per-Gem grouping.
- Can a skill script call an external API?
- No. Scripts cannot make requests to external websites and doing so causes a rejection. Bundle the data inside the skill folder, move the call outside the skill, or use a Connected App.
- Is the 100 skill limit a problem for me?
- Only if you need more than 100 active at once. There is no practical limit on how many skill templates you keep, but 100 can be active simultaneously.