Getting Tripped Up Sharing a Gemini Gem

What I Was Trying to Do

I’d hit the image generation limit on my Gemini Pro plan — it runs out pretty fast if you’re generating back-to-back.

My idea: share the Gem with my Google Workspace account so I could generate from there instead.

How to Share

The sharing flow itself isn’t complicated.

1. Click the three-dot menu (︙) on the Gem you want to share
2. Select “Share”
3. Add the target account to the sharing list

Same as sharing a Google Doc.

Problem 1: Wrong Account Keeps Opening

The sharing notification email arrived, but clicking the link opened it in the sending account.

I thought I’d just forgotten to switch — switched profiles and clicked the link again. Same thing. Still the wrong account.

Problem 2: Gem Doesn’t Appear in the List

Opened an incognito window, logged in to the target account, and clicked the share link. The Gem opened in Gemini.

But it wasn’t showing up in the Gem list.

I asked Gemini about it:

I apologize for the confusion. Because you simply opened the shared Gem via a link without “owning” it, it won’t appear in the Gem Manager list (meaning it can’t be pinned).

To add a shared Gem to your sidebar, you need to “copy” it and save it to your own environment.

I had no idea what it was talking about.

I pushed further:

Even with admin permissions, you cannot register another user’s Gem (without copying it) into the Gem Manager and pin it. This is because the Gem Manager (left sidebar management panel) only shows Gems where you are the owner (creator).

Still not making sense.

The Actual Fix

I just tried making an image — it showed up in the history, but that wasn’t what I wanted.

Then I remembered: “sharing” in Google services usually means Google Drive. Opened Drive and… there it was.

The Gem had been shared as a file.

Clicked that file, which opened Gemini, and the Gem appeared in the list. Pinned it. Done.

Gemini’s After-the-Fact Explanation

I told Gemini how I’d solved it, and it replied:

That file in Google Drive is the Gem itself.

The fact that the file is there means the sharing was already complete. The only additional step needed was to “activate it” by opening it — this is required before it shows up in the Gemini management interface. Copying it is not necessary.

You could have told me that from the start.

Correct procedure (starting from Google Drive):

1. Double-click the file in Google Drive
2. Gemini automatically opens and starts a chat with the Gem
3. Send at least one message (without this, it won’t appear in the sidebar)
4. The Gem shows up under “Shared items” in the left sidebar’s Gem Manager
5. Pin it

What was all that about “copying is required” earlier?

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Gemini really is sloppy about explaining its own services.