Google has given Gemini in Docs a significant upgrade. Nowadays, the digital assistant remembers your personal preferences, and you can deploy your own self-built Gems directly on your documents.
It all sounds useful, but what exactly can these features do, and what on earth is the difference?
1. The personalized settings: your house rules
With the personalized settings (or custom instructions), you provide Gemini with a fixed set of basic rules. This is the 'set-and-forget' button in the Ask Gemini sidebar of Google Docs.
Everything you enter here, Gemini remembers for every document you work on. Think of it as a permanent filter. You no longer have to type for every new document: "Write in Dutch and don't use difficult words." It will just know from now on. (Unless you temporarily uncheck the slider, then it will forget for a moment.)
What can you set here, for example? Your general role (e.g., "I am an elementary school teacher"), your preferred tone ("always enthusiastic and accessible"), or fixed formatting rules ("always start a summary with three clear bullet points and bold titles").
2. Gems in Ask Gemini: your specialist for unique tasks
On the other hand, we have Gems. While personalized settings apply to everything you do in Docs, a Gem is a specialized AI assistant that you or your colleagues have built yourselves for one specific type of task. (Or one of the pre-programmed Gems like the Writing Editor or Copy Creator.)
For some time now, you can link these Gems directly to your Google Docs via the Ask Gemini panel on the right. You call up such a Gem when you need it, as if hiring a specific consultant for a temporary project.
What does a Gem do? A Gem has a very specific purpose and often its own package of background information (e.g., an uploaded brand book with your corporate identity). It does not interfere with other instructions or sources but excels in the one task for which you have programmed it.
What is the real difference?
The big difference lies in the scope and depth, but also in where you can use them and whether you can share them.
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Personalized settings are your general codes of conduct. They always run in the background and ensure that Gemini speaks to you in a 'customer-friendly' or 'formal' manner. This is a personal setting within Google Docs.
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Gems are your specialized tools. You deliberately activate them when you need to perform a very specific task that may deviate from your normal writing style. You can create them in the Gemini app or directly in your AskGemini sidebar of the various Google Apps and can share them with colleagues (if you wish).
Two examples to illustrate:
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Example 1: The Brand Warden Suppose you are a freelance copywriter and you hate it when AI uses the word "focus" or "optimize". You set in your personalized settings: "Always write in fluent, modern Dutch and avoid vague management jargon." No matter which document you open in Google Docs afterward (a recipe blog, a letter to the municipality or a creative story), Gemini will automatically adhere to that writing style.
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Example 2: The Contract Checker You have built a special Gem called "Legal Shield". When setting it up, you programmed this Gem once with a very specific purpose. For example, you gave it the following instructions: "You are a critical, independent corporate lawyer. Your main task is to scan contracts for risks for me as a freelancer. Pay specific attention to unreasonable payment terms (anything longer than 30 days), vague confidentiality clauses, and restrictions on intellectual property (I want to retain the rights to my own work)." You also uploaded a PDF to the Gem with your own standard terms and conditions, so it knows what you normally accept.
Now you receive a new contract from a potential client. You open the document in Google Docs, open the Ask Gemini sidebar on the right side of your screen, click on your list of Gems, and select "Legal Shield." You type a simple command, such as: "Scan this document and explain to me the biggest risks." The Gem performs its magic based on the specific instructions you once gave it.
Use the personalized settings to train Gemini so it understands who you are and how you typically want to work. Use Gems if you want to create a specific digital handyman for recurring, complex tasks. Clear?
