Google Opal Explained: History, Skills in Gemini and AI Studio

Google Opal was a Google Labs tool for building small AI apps and workflows without code, and Google is closing it on November 17, 2026. Google's reminder email to Opal users points them to skills in Gemini, which are saved instructions that Gemini reuses across chats and tasks, and to Google AI Studio for deeper building.

If you built a workflow in Opal, your saved files stay in Google Drive under My Drive > Opal, but the workflows stop running interactively after that date. Google also says existing Opal workflows do not move into skills automatically, so the prompts inside them are the part worth rescuing.

If you still use any workflow, copy its prompt text first. It takes about ten minutes, and the rebuilding can wait until that is done. For the same job in Gemini, a skill is the first thing to try.

What was Google Opal, and what could it do?

Opal was a no-code builder from Google Labs. You described a mini-app in plain language, and Opal chained together text, image and video prompts into a workflow you could run. Google's own posts describe web search, Google Sheets output, content generation, quizzes and interactive stories among the things people built.

The timeline below comes from Google's announcements. Google's October 7, 2025 post said Opal had been introduced "two months ago," which places the first U.S. experiment around August 2025.

Each step moved Opal closer to the place people already spend time. First it spread to more countries, then it moved inside Gemini, and then it gained agent steps and memory so a workflow could remember details and route between steps. That last point matters later, because a skill does not carry those parts over.

How do you use skills in Gemini now?

Google defines a skill as saved custom instructions that Gemini can reuse across chats and tasks. Gemini can apply your activated skills on its own, and it can combine several skills in one task. Google's help page for creating and managing skills lays out the steps, and this is the web path.

1. Sign in: Go to gemini.google.com with your Google account.
2. Open Skills: In the sidebar, choose Customize, then Skills.
3. Create one: Pick Create with Gemini to ask Gemini to build it, Create manually to write it yourself, or Upload to add a SKILL.md file with reference files.
4. Switch it on: Activate the skill so Gemini can use it. You can edit it, download it as a ZIP file or share it later.
5. Call it by name: In a chat, type / and the skill's name.

Skills require that you are 18 or older, signed in to Gemini, and have Keep Activity turned on. Google says skills work in chats without a Google AI subscription, subject to account eligibility, so what free Gemini covers is worth a look before you assume you need a paid plan.

A skill is not a copy of an Opal app. It saves the instructions, not the visual workflow, the interface or the routing between steps. Google also announced skills in the Gemini app and Workspace in September 2026, and availability for work, school and business accounts is still rolling out. Check the Skills page on your own account before you plan around it.

What can a small business keep in a skill?

A skill is a good home for any instruction you keep retyping. Think of the wording you want in replies to quote requests, the layout of a weekly summary, the rules for describing a product, or the checklist you use to review a proposal. Opal workflows built mainly from prompts like these are the ones that can be rebuilt as skills.

Write the skill the way you would train a new hire. Say what the job is, what a good result looks like, what to leave out, and add a real example or two. If a workflow relied on reference material, such as a price list or a style guide, Upload lets you attach reference files to the skill.

Sharing needs care. Google notes that Drive files and notebooks can keep live connections and are not included in a downloaded ZIP. Keep confidential customer information out of any skill you share and out of its reference files. For the wider set of Gemini features, Google's Gemini tools for small business are covered in their own post, and Gemini inside Gmail and Workspace in another.

When does Google AI Studio fit better than a skill?

Google AI Studio is the deeper build. Its Build mode lets you describe an application in plain language and have Gemini generate it, including client and server code. AI Studio also offers model selection, system instructions, structured output, function calling and code execution, and projects can be deployed to Cloud Run.

That makes it the fit for a workflow that needs an interface, code, outside connections, a deployed page or testing, which is more than a skill is built to do. Google's AI Studio quickstart is the place to start.

Google's billing page explains the limits and charges. Google also says a Google Cloud Starter Tier can deploy up to two full-stack applications without first setting up a billing account. Free does not mean unlimited here, so read the limits before you build anything customers will rely on.

What should you save before November 17, 2026?

Google's Opal FAQ says opal.google.com and Gems made by Labs in Gemini turn off on November 17, 2026. Your saved workflow files stay in My Drive > Opal and will not be deleted or touched. What stops is running them: workflows will no longer run interactively, and existing ones do not migrate into skills automatically.

So, the job is to get the readable instructions out while Opal still works. This is the ten-minute version.

After the date, you can still get the prompt text back by downloading the workflow files from the Opal folder and opening them in a plain-text editor. A download from Drive is a record, though, not a working app. Google also says Opal-created Gems, interactions and uploaded media in that folder are handled under Google's Privacy Policy rather than the Gemini Apps Privacy Notice.

One more distinction can save confusion. Google is separately moving ordinary Gems to skills for eligible personal accounts, and its help page on that transition is a different matter from Opal. Gems made by Labs are the Opal-powered ones, and they go off with Opal.

Can you rebuild an Opal workflow as a skill yourself?

A simple prompt-based workflow, yes. Paste the instructions you copied into a new skill, add one or two real examples, and run it on several real jobs from your own week before you trust it. If the output wanders, tighten the instructions and add the reference file it was missing. That is the first thing to try, and it costs you an afternoon, not a project.

Some workflows need more than a skill. If the workflow is business-critical, used by several people, built on reference material that must stay controlled, tied to other software, shown to customers through its own interface, or in need of ongoing maintenance, it is a build rather than a prompt. AI agents for small business covers the jobs where software acts for you, and those are usually past what a skill does.

Whichever route you take, confirm that skills appear on your own Gemini account before you promise anyone a migration. Test the result on real cases, and keep a person reviewing anything a customer will see.

Frequently Asked Questions About Google Opal

What was Google Opal?

Opal was a Google Labs no-code builder for AI-powered mini-apps and workflows. It started as a U.S. experiment around August 2025 and later came inside the Gemini app as Gems made by Labs.

Where was Google Opal available?

It opened to 15 more countries on October 7, 2025, and reached more than 160 countries on November 6, 2025.

When does Google Opal close?

Opal and Gems made by Labs turn off on November 17, 2026. Saved workflow files stay in My Drive > Opal, but workflows no longer run interactively.

Will my Opal workflows become skills automatically?

No. Google says existing Opal workflows do not migrate automatically. Copy the prompt text and recreate the instruction-based work as a skill.

Do I need a Google AI subscription to use skills in Gemini?

Google says skills work in chats without a Google AI subscription, subject to account eligibility. You need to be 18 or older, signed in, and have Keep Activity on.

Does Google AI Studio cost money?

It has a free tier for eligible models with rate limits. Paid model use and Cloud Run deployment can create charges, so check Google's billing page first.

The Bottom Line

Opal began as a Google Labs experiment around August 2025, spread to more than 160 countries, moved into Gemini on December 17, 2025, and turns off on November 17, 2026. Your files stay in My Drive > Opal, but the workflows stop running. Copy your prompts first, then rebuild the instruction-based work as skills, and look at Google AI Studio only when a workflow needs an interface, code or deployment.

Done in that order, you keep the part of the workflow that took you the longest to get right, which is the wording. A custom AI solution makes sense when you need a custom application, and AI consulting helps when the question is choosing between doing it yourself and a build.

If a workflow runs part of your business, Web Leveling can look at it with you, and our AI automation work covers the workflows that several people depend on, that need controlled reference material, or that have to plug into your other software. We work with small and medium businesses across the country and overseas. Send us the workflow you are worried about, and we will tell you whether a skill is enough.

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