Skills
Also written: Durable skill, Agentic skills, Agentic capabilities, Custom skills, Provision skills, Claude Skills, Meta skill, Reusable Skills
Customizable functionalities that extend AI capabilities, often involving specific instructions, data, or workflows for specific tasks.
Think of skills as custom tools you can give to an AI like ChatGPT or Claude. Instead of just answering general questions, these skills teach the AI how to perform specific jobs more reliably.
For example, you could create a skill that helps ChatGPT summarize long articles by providing it with specific instructions on how to extract key information. This makes the AI much better at that particular task.
Skills are modular extensions that enhance AI model capabilities by bundling instructions, data, code, or access to external tools. They enable models to perform specific, often complex, tasks with greater consistency and reliability than general prompting alone. These can range from simple instruction sets to sophisticated workflows involving API calls and multi-step reasoning.
Their implementation allows for personalization and specialization of AI agents, moving beyond general intelligence towards task-specific expertise. This approach facilitates the creation of reusable components that can be shared and applied across different AI instances or users.
Frontier AI labs are focusing on making their assistants more useful and adaptable. Companies like Google and Microsoft are rebranding or introducing "skills" as a way for users and administrators to customize AI behavior and integrate them into specific workflows, moving beyond simple chat interactions.
- Customize your Gemini chats experienceGoogle · Gemini Help Center ·
- Claude for Google Workspace™Anthropic · Claude on YouTube ·
- Gemini app gains new ‘Map’ tool, replacing ‘/’ with ‘@’Google · 9to5Google ·
- 🚀 Cleared for Takeoff: Build Your First Agent | Build Your First Agent and Skills in Agent BuilderMicrosoft · Microsoft Developer on YouTube ·
- Gemini app replacing Gems with skills in NovemberGoogle · 9to5Google ·
- Same Flaw Found in Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI and GitHub CopilotAnthropic · The Information ·
- [In Person Event] AI at Work in Local News: How Newsrooms Are Using AI Today - EventOpenAI · OpenAI Academy ·
- Beyond the Prompt: Building Repeatable AI Workflows for Nonprofit Fundraisers - EventOpenAI · OpenAI Academy ·
- Microsoft Copilot in PowerPoint WebinarMicrosoft · Microsoft 365 on YouTube ·
- Rethinking skills and prompts for GPT-6 AstraOpenAI · OpenAI Developers Blog ·
- Skills in ChatGPTOpenAI · OpenAI Help Center ·
- What's a durable skill software engineers need to learn in 2026?Microsoft · Microsoft Developer on YouTube ·
- What's a durable skill software engineers need to learn in 2026?Microsoft · Microsoft Developer on YouTube ·
- Use skills in ClaudeAnthropic · Claude Help Center ·
- Browse skills, connectors, and plugins in one directoryAnthropic · Claude Help Center ·
- 9 AI Techniques You Probably Haven't TriedOpenAI · The AI Daily Brief ·
- Claude Code Full Course – Autonomous Goals, MCP, and VS Code SetupAnthropic · freeCodeCamp ·
- PLANS For Fable 5: Rebuilding My /Plan Skill for Mythos Class ModelsAnthropic · IndyDevDan ·
- Ep 781: OpenAI’s Codex For Beginners Pt 2: Advanced Agentic Strategies broken down for NewbiesOpenAI · Everyday AI ·
- Introducing the Codex appOpenAI · OpenAI News ·
- Introducing ChatGPT agentOpenAI · OpenAI News ·
- Anthropic Claude
- Anthropic refers to customizable functionalities that extend Claude's capabilities, often involving specific instructions or data, as skills.
- Google Gemini
- Google Gemini is replacing its user-built 'Gems' with 'skills' to offer customizable features and is integrating tools like a map feature that functions as a skill.
- Microsoft Copilot
- Microsoft Copilot allows users to build custom AI agents and skills directly within the platform for tailored workflows.
The concept of 'skills' in AI has evolved from early ideas of expert systems and modular AI components. More recently, it has been popularized by AI platforms offering ways to customize model behavior for specific tasks, often through user-created instructions or integrations.
In ChatGPT or Claude, look for a 'custom instructions' or 'skills' section. Try writing a specific instruction, like 'Always respond in the style of a pirate' or 'When asked about a product, always include its price and availability.' See how the AI applies this new skill in your next conversation.
The Playbook: reusable how-tos, prompts, configs and tips pulled out of the news.
- HeuristicUse progressive disclosure for complex skills with multiple workflowsFor skills with many workflows, use a minimal root document that links to supporting details. · 20 min
- WorkflowBuild repeatable AI workflows for nonprofit fundraising campaignsUse ChatGPT Work to review materials, plan campaigns, create reusable Skills, and prepare recurring fundraising efforts. · 60 min
- ChecklistSteps to create or install a skill in ChatGPTFollow these steps to create, install, or upload skills for use in ChatGPT. · 5 min
- Safety tipReview uploaded skills before using themAlways review uploaded skills for trust and safety before enabling them in ChatGPT. · 5 min
- ToolSkills for ChatGPT to automate tasksReusable, shareable workflows that help ChatGPT complete specific tasks more consistently. · 10 min
Questions people ask
- How are skills different from just telling the AI what to do?
- Skills often involve more structured instructions, data, or even code that can be saved and reused, making the AI more consistently perform a specific task compared to a one-off prompt.
- Can I create my own skills?
- Many platforms are moving towards allowing users to create and manage their own custom skills or instructions to tailor the AI's behavior for their needs.
First seen on Subvolts Jul 17, 2025. Updated Oct 17, 2026. Written by an AI model from the items above and reviewed against them weekly; report an error.