Gemini's Renamed Features: What Spark/Task, Skills, and Scheduled Actions Actually Do

Google has reorganized several Gemini AI capabilities over the course of 2026, renaming features and changing how they appear inside the Gemini app. The most recent change, rolled out on October 12 and 13, 2026, renamed the background agent "Spark" to "Task," according to a guide published by Layer3Labs. Separately, Google announced on September 30, 2026 that "Gems," its custom-bot feature, will be phased out in favor of a new system called "Skills," per Google's own Workspace Updates blog.

Spark becomes Task

Gemini Spark was unveiled at Google I/O on May 19, 2026, as a cloud-based agent that ran continuously on Google Cloud virtual machines, according to Layer3Labs. Android Police reports that Spark/Task was built to handle multi-step workflows across apps and websites, reacting to events rather than only running on a fixed schedule, and gives an example use case: it can monitor flight prices or automatically unsubscribe from newsletters on a user's behalf.

The feature went through a staged rollout: beta access for Google AI Ultra subscribers in the US on May 29, 2026, expansion to Google AI Pro users in the US on July 16, and availability to Pro subscribers in more than 160 countries by July 30, per Layer3Labs. On October 12-13, Google renamed it to "Task" and moved it into a mode toggle directly above the chat prompt box, replacing what had been a separate sidebar entry.

Task mode requires a paid Google AI Pro or Ultra subscription and currently works on macOS and Android, with iOS and web browser support still pending, according to Layer3Labs. Android Police reports that Task can run up to 15 concurrent tasks and, for safety, asks for user approval before sending messages, changing data, making purchases, or submitting forms.

Gems are being replaced by Skills

Separately from the Spark/Task change, Google is retiring Gems, the feature that let users build standalone custom chatbots with saved instructions. In their place, Google introduced "Skills," described on Google's own blog as reusable custom instructions that users save once and trigger repeatedly by typing a forward slash ("/") in the chat prompt bar followed by the skill's name.

According to Google's blog post, Skills can be stacked together within a single conversation and now support reference files such as PDFs, documents, and images. Android Headlines reports that Google Drive integration and link-sharing for Skills are coming soon, and that the system can automatically detect repeated prompts and suggest converting them into a Skill.

Google states that Skills "will soon replace Gems as the tool for tailoring instructions for specific tasks," and that existing Gems will migrate automatically rather than requiring users to recreate them. Android Police notes one current limitation: Canvas, Deep Research, Guided Learning, and media-generation tools do not yet work together with Skills.

Migration dates differ by account type

The shutdown of Gems is staggered across account types. Google's blog lists personal accounts as the first group affected, with migration beginning November 2026, followed by Workspace business, enterprise, and nonprofit customers in March 2027, and Workspace education customers in June 2027. Android Police separately cites November 17 as the date personal-account Gems begin converting to Skills.

Scheduled Actions: the recurring-prompt feature

A third Gemini feature, Scheduled Actions, lets users set prompts to run on a timer rather than on demand, according to Android Police. Users can schedule up to 10 actions, and the system prepares each result in the hour before the set delivery time — for example, a morning digest combining calendar entries, to-do items, and emails, or a daily weather forecast. One quirk noted by Android Police: a Scheduled Action uses the location where it was originally created, not the user's current location. Unlike Task mode, Scheduled Actions do not require a paid subscription.

Why Google is making these changes now

The renaming reflects Google's broader effort to consolidate Gemini's automation tools into the main chat interface rather than separate menus. Layer3Labs describes the Spark-to-Task shift as an attempt to eliminate confusion about where to find background operations, moving the function into a mode toggle next to the prompt box instead of a standalone sidebar item. Google's blog frames the Gems-to-Skills shift in similar terms, describing Skills as a way to save frequently used instructions without needing a separate sub-menu system.