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Gemini Gems are a relatively powerful but underutilized tool – a friend of ours swears by them for helping to generate quarterly letters to investment clients in his authentic tone, which he can then quickly edit and modify (saving him hours versus writing them from scratch). Below is a plain-English guide to Gemini Gems: what they are, how to make and share them, and even more powerful alternatives based on the same underlying Gemini models that can save you even more time.
Gemini Gems Explained: How to Make, Share, and Automate Custom AI Helpers
Gemini Gems are customized versions of Google’s Gemini assistant that remember your instructions and act like reusable specialists for repeatable tasks. You create or “train” a Gem once, then open it whenever you need that job done without retyping long prompts. Google’s help center walks through the flow: open the web app, choose Explore Gems, create a new Gem, write instructions, preview, and save. You can use Gems from the web and mobile apps, but today you need to create or edit them on the web.
Why Gems sit between prompting and automation
Most teams start by copying and pasting prompts into Gemini. It works, but it is manual and inconsistent. Gems capture your best instructions and turn them into a one-click expert you can reuse. That places Gems in the middle of a spectrum: on one end, ad-hoc prompting; on the other, automated workflows that run on triggers in the background. With a Gemini Gem, you still choose when to use it, but you stop repeating yourself and get reliable, on-brand outputs.
How to create your first Gemini Gem (step by step)
Open the builder. Visit gemini.google.com, select Explore Gems, then New Gem. Name it with a specific job, like “Lead Reply Assistant” or “Policy Checker.”
Write clear instructions. Describe the task, tone, guardrails, and format. Preview your prompt, then click Save once the output looks right.
Add context. Paste style samples, product names, or link files the Gem should consider. Pre-made Gems also exist for common needs and can inspire your own.
Use it where you work. Your custom and pre-made Gems are available from the side panel in Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drive, and Gmail – so you do not have to switch tabs.
How to share Gemini Gems with your team (and what recipients can do)
A new Gemini Gem feature as of 2025 is that you can share custom Gems directly from the Gem manager on the web. Sharing works like Google Drive: you decide whether others can view, edit, or copy your Gem. Workspace admins can allow or restrict sharing for the organization or by department.
When you share a Gem, others can use it immediately without seeing your full instructions unless you grant edit access. This makes it easy to turn a personal Gem (like your best “lead-reply” or “content summarizer”) into a team asset, or one that outside partners and vendors can use. Shared Gems live inside Drive and follow the same security and access rules as other documents.
Seven practical Gemini Gem examples you can copy and use today
These lightweight instruction drafts are easy to tweak. Paste them into a new Gem and adjust for your brand and workflow.
Lead reply Gem
What it does: Writes fast, on-brand replies for new inquiries and asks for missing details. This is great for speed to lead – which can be critical in many industries. For a deeper dive on responsiveness in real estate, see our real estate AI guide.
Starter instructions: “You are my lead reply assistant. Write a warm, 120–180-word response. Confirm the person’s need, ask up to three clarifying questions, and propose a 30-minute call. Match the style sample below. Do not invent pricing. Offer two times pulled from my availability text.”
Document review and summarizer Gem
What it does: Skims long PDFs or email threads and returns a concise brief with risks, open questions, and next steps.
Starter instructions: “Summarize into five bullets, then list risks, missing information, and deadlines in a table with columns: Item, Why it matters, Due by. Treat words like deadline, wire, unpermitted as high priority.”
Marketing copy coach Gem
What it does: Produces on-brand captions, newsletters, or blurbs that sound like you.
Starter instructions: “You are a copywriter for {Brand}. Tone: warm, clear, trustworthy. Provide 2–3 options, each under 60 words, with a short call to action. Follow the vocabulary list below and avoid jargon.”
Meeting prep Gem
What it does: Prepares a one-pager before each call with key facts, talking points, and follow-up tasks. Open from the Gmail or Drive side panel for context.
Starter instructions: “Create a quick brief with five highlights, three open questions, and a follow-up email draft. Format for mobile reading.”
Client follow-up Gem
What it does: Sends polite, timely follow-ups to clients or prospects who haven’t replied in a few days. Keeps your tone professional and personable, and reduces manual chasing.
Starter instructions: “Write a short, polite follow-up email to a client or prospect who hasn’t replied in 3–5 days. Be warm but direct. Reiterate the main value or question from the last message in one line, then suggest one clear next step. End with a simple sign-off and no filler language. Keep the email under 100 words.”
Meeting notes Gem
What it does: Turns rough meeting transcripts or voice notes into polished summaries and task lists. Saves time on post-meeting documentation and keeps everyone aligned.
Starter instructions: “You are my meeting notes assistant. Convert this rough transcript or set of bullet points into a clean summary with three sections: 1) Key decisions, 2) Action items with owners and due dates, and 3) Open questions, follow-ups, and other action items. Use concise language suitable for an internal summary email or project log. Avoid filler words and don’t invent information.”
Customer feedback Gem
What it does: Analyzes customer reviews or survey responses, extracting trends, sentiment, and action items for improvement.
Starter instructions: “Analyze this set of customer comments and produce: 1) A one-paragraph summary of overall sentiment. 2) A bullet list of top recurring themes, labeled Positive, Neutral, or Negative. 3) Three specific recommendations for improvement or follow-up. Be concise and factual. Avoid repeating full quotes unless they illustrate a clear pattern.”
Advanced tips: lifecycle, iteration, and instruction rewrites
Each Gem follows a simple lifecycle: create it with clear goals, invoke it as needed, refine instructions over time, and periodically update them as your style or needs evolve.
The Gem manager even includes a rewrite feature (“magic wand”) that can suggest improvements to your draft instructions. Think of it as a built-in prompt editor. Use it to clarify tone, add structure, or shorten verbose sections without losing your intent.
Alternatives to Gemini Gems
If you’re just not feeling Gemini Gems or simply prefer using ChatGPT, ChatGPT has its own alternatives to Gemini Gems – you can create “custom GPTs,” or use project-level instructions, to replicate similar functionality. Next week, we will publish a companion post on ChatGPT custom GPTs and project instructions, so check back for that.
Better yet, if you like the idea of reusable Gems, you’re already well on your way to automation. Gems save you from copying and pasting…. but AI workflow automation saves you from clicking at all. If you want work to happen automatically, you can reuse your Gem’s instructions inside a trigger-based automation. Our automation guide explains how tools like Zapier, Make, or n8n connect email, calendars, CRMs, and AI so routine tasks run invisibly in the background. You can build these yourself, or hire a professional developer like us.
We can help build Gem-like solutions (or level up your existing solutions) that work automatically, providing you the output you need when and where you need it, with no or minimal action from you (no more copying and pasting!)
Whether you want a single automation that handles your inbox, or a more complex lead-to-estimate-to-invoice workflow that runs on its own, we build to fit the tools you already use. Explore our AI and Automation Solutions, then contact us to talk through your use case. If you want more practical AI tips in your inbox, you can join our mailing list or follow us on X and LinkedIn. If this guide was helpful, please share it with a friend!
When a Gem is enough: You want occasional consistent drafts, reviews, or briefs and are fine launching them manually from Gemini or the Workspace side panel.
When to choose AI workflow automation instead: You find yourself using your Gem multiple times per day and want the process to happen on a schedule or trigger; like “new lead arrives, draft reply and log to CRM,” or “PDF added to Drive, produce a one-page summary.” The same instructions can be reused in a workflow so improvements to your Gem also improve your automation.
Missing Share button: Ensure you’re using the web version and that sharing is allowed by your admin.
Can’t create a Gem in Docs or Gmail: You create or edit Gems on the web; you use them from the Workspace side panel.
Features look different: Gemini updates frequently, so labels and icons may have changed. Check Google’s latest release notes if something looks unfamiliar.
Note: Product names and availability can change. If a menu label or button looks different in your account, check Google’s support pages and Workspace updates for the latest UI and rollout notes.
