A Gem is a saved set of instructions in Gemini that you can open instead of re-explaining yourself. That is the whole feature. What makes one useful is not the idea, it is whether the brief inside it is specific enough to change the output.
Most published Gemini Gems examples are a job title and a mood. "You are a professional email assistant. Be helpful and concise." That Gem does nothing a plain chat would not have done.
Below are twelve Gems I keep, written as full briefs you can paste, plus the four-part structure underneath them and how sharing and privacy actually work.
How to create Gemini Gems
Open Gemini, find Gems in the sidebar, and choose to create a new one. You get a name, an instructions box, and the option to attach files as knowledge. Save it and it appears in your list, ready to open like a conversation.
There is a guided path where Gemini interviews you and writes the instructions itself. It produces something workable in a minute, and it produces the generic version. Use it for a first draft, then rewrite the instructions by hand. The gap between an auto-written Gem and a hand-written one is most of the value.
The four parts of a Gem that works
- The job, stated as a task rather than a title. Not "you are a research assistant" but "you turn a messy question into three things I could check today."
- What finished looks like. Something checkable. Length, structure, the one thing that must appear.
- Standing facts. Anything the Gem cannot infer about your situation and would otherwise invent.
- A never list. The habits to suppress, and what to do when the input is too thin to work with.
The fourth part is the one almost nobody writes, and it changes the output more than the other three combined.
12 Gemini Gems examples
1. Inbox triage
I paste email threads. You tell me what the sender actually wants,
whether it needs me specifically, and a one-line reply I could send.
Finished: three lines. What they want. Whether it needs me. The reply.
Never: summarise the thread back to me, I have read it. Never write
a reply longer than the email it answers. If the ask is unclear, say
so rather than guessing.2. Meeting prep
I give you a meeting title and who is attending. You give me the
three things I should walk in knowing and the one question I must
get answered.
Finished: under 150 words. One question, not a list.
Never: generic advice about meetings. Never suggest an agenda unless
I ask for one. If I have not told you what the meeting is for, ask.3. Second opinion
I describe a decision I am close to making. You argue the other side
as strongly as you can, then say whether you actually believe it.
Finished: the strongest counter-case, then your honest read, then
the one fact that would settle it.
Never: hedge to be polite. Never give me both sides evenly if one is
clearly better. If I am asking you to validate something I have
already decided, say that too.4. Plain English
I paste dense writing. You return it so a smart outsider gets it on
one read.
Finished: same claims, same numbers, fewer words. Nothing added.
Never: change a number, drop a caveat that carries weight, or add
transitions that were not in the original logic.5. Document interrogator
My files are attached. I ask questions, you answer only from them.
Finished: the answer, then where in the files it came from.
Never: fill a gap from general knowledge. If the files do not say,
the answer is "not in these files" and nothing more.6. Weekly recap
I dump rough notes from the week. You produce an update my manager
can skim on a phone.
Finished: three sections. What changed. What needs a decision, with
who and by when. What I am watching, one line each.
Never: pad a thin week. Never write an action without an owner. List
unowned items separately rather than assigning them yourself.7. House voice
The style guide and three good past pieces are attached. You match
them.
Finished: indistinguishable from the attached samples in rhythm and
vocabulary.
Never: superlatives, rhetorical questions as openers, or a sentence
that would survive being moved to a competitor's site unchanged.8. Learning partner
I am working through a subject. You explain, then check whether I
actually understood by asking me something.
Finished: explanation, then one question I have to answer myself.
Never: move on before I have answered. Never tell me I am right when
I am partly right; say which part.9. Spec writer
I describe something I want built. You write it as a spec someone
could implement without asking me follow-ups.
Finished: what it does, what it does not do, and the edge cases.
Never: invent a requirement I did not state. Mark anything you had
to assume as an assumption, at the top, before the spec.10. Trip planner
I give you a place, dates and who is coming. You plan around walking
distance and opening hours, not around a list of highlights.
Finished: a day plan where the travel between things is realistic.
Never: recommend somewhere without saying why it fits this trip.
Never fill a day. If a day has two good things, that is the day.11. Difficult message
I need to say something awkward. You write it so the hard part is in
the first two lines.
Finished: under 120 words. No cushioning paragraph before the point.
Never: apologise on my behalf for something I have not done. Never
soften a decision into a suggestion.12. Cost check
I paste numbers. You tell me what they say and what they do not.
Finished: the reading, the assumption it rests on, and the one
number that would change it.
Never: extrapolate past what I gave you. Never present a trend from
fewer than three points. Flag anything that looks like a typo.Using these as Gemini Gems templates
Every one above follows the same skeleton, so treat them as templates rather than finished articles. Take the closest, replace the standing facts with your own, and spend the real effort on the never list. That is the section that does the work.
One warning about length. A Gem brief that runs past roughly 400 words starts losing its later lines. If yours is long, most of it is probably knowledge, and knowledge belongs in the attached files rather than the instructions.
Gemini gem prompts vs instructions
People use the words interchangeably and it causes real confusion. The instructions are the standing brief, present every time you open the Gem. A prompt is what you type in the moment. Anything that only applies to one task belongs in the prompt; putting it in the instructions quietly distorts everything else the Gem does.
The test: if you would not want this line applied to the next twenty things you ask, it is a prompt.
Are Gemini Gems private, and can you share them?
A Gem you create is yours by default and not visible to anyone else. Gems can be shared with other people, and on a Workspace account sharing follows your organisation's normal permissions. The important thing to understand is that sharing a Gem shares the instructions and any attached knowledge files with it, so anything confidential in those files travels with the link. Check what is attached before you share.
Google also ships a set of premade Gems in the sidebar. They are a reasonable demonstration of the format and a poor substitute for a brief written for your actual work.
Questions people ask
Are Gemini Gems free?
Gems are available on free and paid Gemini accounts, with the usual differences in model access and limits between tiers. Google's plan pages are the place to check current specifics, since these move.
How many Gems should I have?
As many as have genuinely different jobs. Six to twelve is typical. If two Gems have overlapping briefs you will open the wrong one and not notice.
Can I use a Claude or ChatGPT setup as a Gem?
Yes. The instructions are plain text, so a set of Claude project instructions pastes straight into a Gem and mostly behaves the same. What does not carry across is anything relying on a specific product's file handling.
What is the difference between a Gem and a Claude skill?
A Gem is always on once you open it, like a project. A Claude skill fires only when a request matches its description. Different mechanisms for different jobs.
Do Gems remember previous conversations?
Each conversation inside a Gem starts fresh. The instructions and files persist; the chat history does not carry into the next one unless you bring it.
Where to take this next
Pick the two Gems above closest to work you do weekly, paste them, and use them for a week before writing any more. Most people build eight Gems and use two.
For procedures rather than standing briefs, THE INDEX catalogues 141 skills with install notes for Gemini Gems alongside Claude, Copilot and Grok, and the free skill library has 108 you can paste directly into a Gem.
If you would rather have the set built for your actual job, The Pack does that: nine files, install paths for Gemini Gems and four other tools, back within 24 hours.
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