Google changed the names of several major features inside its Gemini AI assistant. These updates impact three primary tools and add to a lengthy history of branding modifications, meaning users must learn familiar functions under new titles.
The largest update converts Gems into Skills. Previously, Gems allowed people to build custom AI helpers for particular jobs such as writing emails or condensing notes. Skills function in a comparable way but introduce stacking, letting people merge multiple Skills inside one chat. Google started releasing Skills on October 5 for Workspace and October 13 within the Gemini app. Existing Gems will automatically transfer into Skills by November 17, and users will lose the ability to create or edit Gems after that deadline.
Google also integrated its Spark agent straight into the central Gemini interface as "Tasks." The business initially debuted Spark during I/O 2026 in May as a constant autonomous agent. Spark previously operated in a separate area, which divided the workspace. Now, a "Chat" and "Task" toggle appears under the prompt box in Gemini. A fresh "Scheduled" page in the sidebar displays all running, paused, and finished tasks. The account menu option titled "Gemini Spark Settings" now appears as "Task settings."
Google previously changed Extensions to "apps" earlier in 2025. This update brought no functional changes but swapped technical wording for a common term, changing the prompt from "Turn Gemini Extensions on or off" to "Manage which apps Gemini connects to."
These updates continue a trend that began in February 2024 when Google changed Bard to Gemini. Google later updated Duet AI to Gemini for Workspace and organized Gemini Advanced into tiered options. Sissie Hsiao, Google's AI product lead, previously spoke about the issue. "Frankly, having so many names is really complicated for people," she stated. Despite this, the continuous renaming cycle adds to the exact confusion the company claims it wishes to resolve.
