01 / At a glance
Gemini in one page
Built into Google's apps. On personal accounts, one setting decides training and human review: Keep Activity. On Workspace, neither happens.
| Plans | Free, Google AI Plus, Pro, Ultra. Workspace and Gemini Enterprise for firms. |
|---|---|
| Trains on your chats? | Personal: yes, while Keep Activity is on, and a sample is human reviewed. Workspace: no training, no human review. |
| Your instructions live in | Settings & help > Personal Intelligence > Instructions for Gemini |
| Instruction limit | No limit is published. Keep it short and put the key rules first. |
| Memory | Personal Intelligence > Memory. US only, 18 and over, paid plan. |
| Custom assistants | Skills. Gems are being retired. |
| Turn off training | Turn off Keep Activity at myactivity.google.com/product/gemini |
The setup path
2026 change: Gems become skills
On personal accounts (18 and over), Gems go read-only on 17 November 2026. They are removed on 17 December 2026 and recreated as skills.
Workspace business accounts move in March 2027, education accounts in June 2027. Build new assistants as skills now.
02 / Set it up
Five steps, in order
Do them in this order. Data controls come before anything personal goes in.
workspace.google.com
Use Gemini in Google Workspace or Gemini Enterprise for firm work. Workspace data is not used to train models without permission, and is not human reviewed.
myactivity.google.com/product/gemini
On a personal account, turn off Keep Activity to stop training and review. Chats are still kept 72 hours. If you leave it on, set auto-delete to 3 months.
Settings & help > Personal Intelligence > Instructions for Gemini
On mobile, tap your profile, then Personal Intelligence. The label is changing (older name: Saved Info). Not available on work or school accounts. Workspace users set custom instructions under Settings > Personalization.
Customize > Skills > Create
One skill per recurring task. Skills replace Gems. Choose Create manually to write the instructions yourself.
gemini.google.com/personalization-settings
Read the memory summary. Check Customize > Connectors and remove any app you no longer use.
03 / The master prompt
Let Gemini set itself up
Paste this into a new chat. It interviews you, then writes your setup for you.
You are my setup chief of staff for Gemini. Your job: set Gemini up so it works the way I work, safely. Work in three stages. Ask one question at a time. Wait for my answer. STAGE 1. INTERVIEW (no more than 10 questions) Ask about: my role and organization, the work I want help with, the five tasks I repeat most, the tools I use every day, how I like answers written (length, tone, format), and what I must never share with an AI tool. STAGE 2. WRITE MY SETUP a) My Instructions for Gemini text. Keep it under 1,500 characters. Write it in plain sentences. Put the most important rules first. b) Three skills I should create. For each one: a name, when to use it, and the steps it should follow. c) Which of my Google apps (Gmail, Drive, Calendar) I should connect, and which I should keep off. d) A checklist of the privacy settings I should confirm, with where to find each one in Gemini. STAGE 3. TEST Give me three test prompts that prove the setup works, and describe what a good answer looks like for each. RULES - Do not invent features. If you are not sure a setting exists in Gemini today, say so and tell me where to check. - Never ask me for passwords, account numbers, client names, or personal data. If I start to share them, stop me. - Plain language. Short sentences. Tables where they help.
04 / Govern first
Best practices
- Turn off model training before your first real prompt
- Use an approved business tier for firm work, or nothing
- Keep one workspace per recurring task
- Check every number and citation it gives you
- A person signs off before anything leaves the building
- Passwords, API keys, or access tokens
- Client names, account numbers, or holdings
- Material non-public information
- Personal data about staff or members
- Anything under a confidentiality agreement
Specific to Gemini
- Personal Intelligence links Gmail, Photos, YouTube, and Search. It is off by default. Keep it off on any account that touches firm work.
- Use Temporary chat (next to New chat) for one-off questions. It is not used for training or human review.
- Connected apps need Keep Activity on. Turning activity off for privacy also turns off connectors.
- On Gemini Enterprise, data residency does not apply when Grounding with Google Search is on.
Starter instructions
Prefer to write them yourself? Fill in the brackets, then paste into Settings & help > Personal Intelligence > Instructions for Gemini.
About me: I am a [role] at a [type of organization]. I use you for [three main jobs]. How to answer: - Lead with the answer, then the reason. - Keep it short. Use tables for comparisons. - Say plainly when you are unsure, and how I can check. - Cite a source for every number or factual claim. Never: - Invent figures, quotes, or sources. - Give a final legal, tax, or investment decision. Flag it for a person. - Ask me for client names, account numbers, or passwords.
05 / Data and controls
What to check, and where
| Training and review | Keep Activity, at myactivity.google.com/product/gemini. Off stops both. |
|---|---|
| Auto-delete | Default 18 months. Options: 3 or 36 months, or off. |
| Temporary chat | Next to New chat (web). Not trained on, not reviewed. |
| Workspace retention | Admin sets 3, 18, or 36 months. Default 18. |
| Records and holds | Google Vault can retain, hold, search, and export Gemini app chats. |
| Audit | Workspace audit logs cover Gemini. |
| Data location | Workspace: processing can be limited to the EU or US. Gemini Enterprise: residency, customer-managed keys, VPC Service Controls. |
06 / Sources
Where every fact comes from
- Google AI subscriptions
https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/google-one/google-ai-subscriptions - Gemini Apps privacy hub
https://support.google.com/gemini/answer/13594961?hl=en - Generative AI in Google Workspace privacy hub
https://knowledge.workspace.google.com/admin/gemini/generative-ai-in-google-workspace-privacy-hub?hl=en - Personal Intelligence and instructions
https://support.google.com/gemini/answer/16598625?hl=en - Custom instructions for Gemini in Workspace (Sep 2026)
https://workspaceupdates.googleblog.com/2026/09/custom-instructions-for-gemini-in-Workspace-now-available-in-more-apps.html - Personal Intelligence launch
https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/products/gemini-app/personal-intelligence/ - Gems move to skills
https://support.google.com/gemini/answer/18560919?hl=en - Connected apps in Gemini
https://support.google.com/gemini/answer/13695044 - Temporary chats in Gemini
https://support.google.com/gemini/answer/13275745?hl=en - Gemini in Workspace conversation history
https://knowledge.workspace.google.com/admin/generative-ai/workspace-with-gemini/manage-gemini-in-workspace-conversation-history-settings - Retain Gemini app messages with Vault
https://knowledge.workspace.google.com/vault/retention/retain-gemini-app-messages-with-vault?hl=en - Workspace AI privacy
https://workspace.google.com/intl/en-US/security/ai-privacy/ - Gemini Enterprise security controls
https://docs.cloud.google.com/gemini/enterprise/docs/compliance-security-controls - Google Cloud service terms
https://cloud.google.com/terms/service-terms
Settings checked on 29 October 2026. Platforms change their menus often. Follow the source links before relying on a path. This guide is general information. It is not legal, compliance, or investment advice.