Google adopts the SKILL.md standard: Gemini Skills replace Gems
Reusable Markdown instructions reach the Gemini app, Docs and Sheets this week as Gems wind down — and OpenAI's always-on Dots get their own cloud computers.
Copy markdown
Gemini Skills, built on the SKILL.md standard
Skills are reusable custom instructions written in the open Markdown SKILL.md format — the same spec Claude Code uses — usable across the Gemini app, Docs, Sheets, Slides and Forms, and stackable several at once (a brand-voice skill plus an email-drafter in one prompt). Rollout starts Oct 5 in Workspace and Oct 13 in the Gemini app, finishing by mid-November. The skill file you already write for Claude now has a second major home.
Gems are being retired — note the dates
If you built Gems, they move to a Settings panel on Nov 17, then get disabled and auto-migrated to draft Skills on Mar 1, 2027 for business and enterprise (Jun 1, 2027 for education). Plan the port now rather than at the deadline — Skills don't sync across surfaces, so each one has to be recreated per app.
OpenAI's Dots: always-on agents with their own cloud computer
Unveiled at DevDay and rolling out now, each Dot (running on GPT-6 Astra) gets an isolated cloud computer and browser, connects to 4,000+ apps, and does proactive research while you're away — one tester's Dot spotted an unsent invoice in an email thread and drafted it. It's included in Pro and Business Premium at no extra cost, though EU, UK and Swiss Pro users are excluded at launch; specialist Dots with company-system access are in enterprise preview.