AI Quick Tips 277: Getting started with Gems

If that didn’t land then let’s go to the beginning.  

Sometimes Gemini being such a broad-scoped tool can be a negative because you have to retype (or say) the same prompts.  Gems are the solution that allow you to create specific and repeatable instructions so that you can design them for certain actions. 

For example, let’s say you want to have Gemini review your writing and suggest edits.  And maybe you have 10 things that you want it to look for, each requiring a few lines of prompt space to get good results.  Instead of re-writing that prompt each time, you can put those instructions in a Gem, name it your “writing editor”, and next time just open the Gem and go.  

Gemini has some premade Gems that you can use as-is or make a copy and modify to fit your situation.

They are pretty easy to get to -

1. Go to gemini.google.com
2. Expand the menu on the left
3. Click on Gems

4. I recommend scrolling down to the “Gem manager” section and starting there (the “Labs” ones at the top have another layer of complexity and may be harder to understand at the beginning)

5. Pick a Gem that sounds interesting (or a random one if you just want to see the process) and click on the three dots in the upper right corner to open the menu
   
   
6. Find one that has the “Make a copy” option

7. Click on “Make a copy” and you will see the instructions for the Gem

8. You can keep the details (name, description, instructions, etc.) or change them however you want
   
   
9. Save when you are finished

Now you’ll have your own Gem with your own custom instructions.

There’s more to Gems but I think that is a good stopping point.  Take a look at a few Gems and see what you think.

Completely new to Gemini and unsure where to get started? We have a video for that: