Gemini’s 13 October 2026 update brings skills into the Customize entry point. Use it to save one procedure you already understand, such as turning rough club-planning notes into a meeting agenda. This goes beyond learning what a skill is: the result should be a saved, reusable instruction with a test you can check.
Define one result before creating the skill
Choose invented notes with three topics: room booking, supplies and volunteer shifts. Ask for an agenda with topic, decision needed and missing information. Do not let the assistant invent a chairperson or a deadline, and do not ask it to send invitations.
Give the skill a specific description: use it when rough planning notes need an agenda for a meeting. Keep the instructions short: preserve every topic, separate facts from suggestions, mark missing information and return the same columns each time. This is the reusable method; the notes change on each run.
Save it through the current interface
On the Gemini web app, open Customize, then Skills. If Customize is not visible, check More. Choose Create and Create manually, enter the name, description and instructions, then create the skill. Button names depend on interface language. Current help requires age 18 or over, sign-in and Keep Activity enabled; do not change an account’s activity setting without first considering whether it suits the material you intend to use. This guide uses a personal Google Account; work and school availability follows a separate rollout.
Test an awkward case
Try a second set of notes with one repeated topic and an undecided date. Check that the repetition is handled without losing either detail and that the date remains undecided. If the output invents a decision, tighten the instruction and retry. Save the checked version before adding connected apps or actions.