Just like how Claude has Projects and ChatGPT has Custom GPTs, Google Gemini lets you create Gems. These custom AI assistants are a great way to avoid the re-setup tax, which refers to the time you spend explaining the context to a regular AI chat instance. When set up the right way, Gemini Gems can help you save hours a week — because you get better responses quickly! If you don’t know where to start with creating Gems, here are five Gemini Gems everyone should build once and reuse forever.

A writing editor Gem that finally sounds like you

The one Gem that stopped my emails from sounding like a robot wrote them

Gemini can edit/proofread your text on its own, but you’d also notice how these write-ups are full of AI tells and, at times, mechanical. What you can build instead is a Gemini Gem that edits the given write-up as per the preconfigured voice and style. Now, you can either start from scratch or modify the instructions for the Editor Gem available from Gemini.

Either way, asking the Gem to simply “make the text better” is a bad idea. Instead, you should give clear instructions on the tone and voice to be followed. For instance, I’ve set up my tone editor to avoid formulaic responses, choose a descriptive tone over a persuasive one, and even limit the use of AI tells like em dashes. You can also optimize the workflow by asking the Gem to provide the edited text without wraparound.

A career coach Gem that rehearses hard conversations

I made Gemini interview me before a real recruiter could

Regardless of whether you are currently in a job hunt, it makes sense to create a career coach Gem on Gemini. Once again, you can create one on your own or remix the Career Guide Gem from Google. The one I’ve created essentially acts as a hiring manager who’s conducting the job interview.

I designed the Gem to extract information from the job description I paste, ask the right questions, and provide feedback. Another thing to keep in mind is training this Gem to push back when necessary, especially when the response is vague or formulaic. I have also added a couple of documents I’ve prepared on interview strategies and everything, so those pointers are brought into the mix.

A fact-checking Gem that refuses to guess

This Gem would rather say “I don’t know” than lie to you

Despite developers’ best efforts, hallucinations seem to be a problem with AI tools, including Google’s Gemini. So, I believe, as many others do, it is a good idea to build a fact-checking Gem that does not guess its responses. You can create this Gem by asking it not to guess certain things, like current prices, versions, or news-related aspects, without running a live search.

Because Gemini Gems has direct access to Google’s search capabilities, you get better responses than, say, when you use the same concept with ChatGPT or Claude. When providing custom instructions, you can also ask the Gem to cite its sources rather than bombard you with links. Though it may work otherwise, you can always use Deep Research as the default tool.

A decision compass Gem for the choices you keep putting off

Five different advisors, one gem, zero decision fatigue

If you regularly have issues thinking about whether the decision you are going to make is right, you might also want to create and use a decision compass Gem on Gemini. You can think of this Gem as a life/role coach, and it’s designed to give you different takes on a decision from financial, long-term, practical, and even skeptical perspectives.

You can, of course, bring in additional customizations to the response. For instance, you can decide what each of these perspectives would do, and you can ask a Gem to even add a comparison between these takes, helping you to make the decision faster. If you want to take this further and get more personalized responses, especially regarding finance, you can consider uploading your budgets and other information.

A Gem that argues with you instead of agreeing

I built the one Gem designed to tell me I’m wrong

LLM-based AI tools are known for being over-complacent, and Gemini is no exception. This means the AI tool is more likely to agree with you than to push back. If you are looking for genuine feedback on your work, you should try continually using a Google Gemini Gem that argues with you instead of simply agreeing.

You can set up this Gem by asking it not to start with an agreement, identifying the weakest assumption, and staying away from fake objections for their sake. You can also set up the custom instructions so that the pushback is direct rather than sandwiched between compliments. You can customize this Gem further depending on the situation. For instance, when I use it for academic research, I might ask it to ask a question that Reviewer #2 would.

Where these gems quietly waste your time

While these Gems can follow custom instructions and give you better responses, they have certain limitations. Most importantly, the Gem is only as good as the model, and Gemini has to go a long way to become the best at many things. It also means you will have to consider other options, like ChatGPT’s Custom GPTs or Claude’s Projects, to get better responses at times. Meanwhile, you can also check out what Google Gems can do with the help of Gemini Labs.