Google could kill this useful and free Gemini feature in favor of a paid one

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If you’ve been using Gemini for a while, chances are you have come across Gems: customized versions of Gemini tuned for specific use cases. Gemini Gems can be very useful, especially for things like learning how to code, getting a new language under your belt, and more. However, it seems Google may be planning to sunset Gems later this year.

Testing Catalog unearthed a notice in the Gemini web app that’s currently hidden behind a feature flag. According to the notice, Google is planning to retire Gems on October 20. It also recommends that users save their Gem content or recreate it as Skills.

It’s worth noting that Skills are currently available only to users with a Google AI Pro or Ultra subscription and are accessible within Gemini Spark . Gems, on the other hand, are available to all Gemini users, including those with free accounts.

If Google sunsets Gems in favor of Skills, it might end up putting a useful Gemini customization tool behind a paywall for many users. Either that, or Google could be planning to make Skills available to all Gemini users before it officially ends support for Gems.

It’s also important to note that, since the notice isn’t live yet and the outlet only got it to appear by enabling a feature flag, it’s possible that Google hasn’t yet decided to retire Gems. The company could decide to keep Gems around, or make Skills available to everyone, including users in regions where Gemini Spark is currently unavailable, such as the European Economic Area, the UK, Nigeria, and Switzerland.

We have reached out to Google for comment and will update this post when we hear back.

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