Based on the Lead with AI AI Leader Advanced program.
Think about a task you explain to AI every week. You describe the audience, walk through the steps, set the format and remind it what to avoid.
A skill captures that explanation once. It is a set of reusable instructions that teaches AI how to do a specific task, like a standard operating procedure for AI. Each week, you add the new information, and AI follows the process you defined.
How is a skill different from a saved prompt?
A good prompt gives AI strong instructions for one piece of work. A skill makes those instructions reusable, and can add templates, examples, reference files and checks. Most tools can also load a skill automatically when they recognize a matching request, and you can combine skills, such as one for your process and one for your writing style.
What makes a good skill?
Start with the four parts of CODO: Character, Objective, Do and Don't, and Output. Then add two things that make it reusable:
- Trigger: which requests should activate the skill.
- Resources: the templates, examples and reference files it should use.
As you write it, make the important steps explicit, as if you were briefing a capable new colleague. Keep what stays the same, such as structure and process, in the skill, and put what changes, such as this week's notes, in your request. Include an example of a good result, and test the skill with realistic inputs before you share it.
The five skill tools at a glance
| Tool | Where you create it | How you use it | Plans |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claude skills | Customize, then Skills, or record one in Cowork | Type / or let Claude choose | All plans, with code execution on |
| ChatGPT skills | Plugins, then Skills, or ask skill-creator | Type @ or let ChatGPT choose | Business, Enterprise, Healthcare and Edu |
| Gemini skills | Customize, then Skills, in the Gemini app | Type @ or let Gemini choose | Personal and Workspace accounts |
| Copilot skills | Manage plugins and skills in PowerPoint or Excel | Choose it from + in the prompt box | Microsoft 365 Copilot license |
| Google Workspace skills | Skills in Workspace Studio | Type @ in the Gemini side panel, or add it to a flow | Workspace Business, Enterprise and Education |
One skill file can travel. Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini and Copilot all use SKILL.md files based on the same open format, so you can often copy a skill from one tool to another and adjust it.
Which tool should you use?
Build the skill where the work happens.
- In your chats: Claude skills on any plan, or ChatGPT skills on business plans.
- In Microsoft 365 files: Copilot skills in PowerPoint and Excel.
- In Google Workspace: Gemini skills in the Gemini app, and Google Workspace skills in Gmail, Docs, Slides and flows.
A CODO skill template you can copy
This skill turns rough notes into a weekly leadership update. Paste it into any of the five tools, or save it as SKILL.md and upload it.
--- name: leadership-update-writer description: Turns rough weekly notes into a concise, decision-ready leadership update. Use when I ask for a leadership update, weekly update or executive summary from notes. --- Character: You are a chief of staff who writes for the executive team. Objective: Turn the notes I provide into a one-page weekly update that keeps leaders informed and helps them make decisions. Do: - Keep every fact, figure and date exactly as given. - Highlight the decisions needed, with owners and deadlines. - Mark any missing owner or deadline as "Not provided". - Ask for the notes and the reporting period if I have not shared them. Don't: - Don't invent information or add assessments the notes do not support. - Don't add urgency or status labels that are not in the notes. Output: Five sections: executive summary, key developments, decisions and action items, risks or trade-offs, and next steps. Keep it to about one page.
What should you keep in mind?
- Not every task needs a skill. Build one when a process repeats and consistency matters.
- A skill scales a weak process too. Test it and improve it before you share it with your team.
- Write a precise description, because it decides when the AI uses the skill.
- Only install skills you trust, because some skills can run code.
- Check the output, especially facts, figures and anything the notes did not include.
Want to go further? Build SOPs for any workflow with AI helps you write a process down, and Record a skill on Claude shows how to capture one by demonstration. To compare skills with projects and assistants, read our guide to reusable AI assistants.
Key takeaways
- Turn your best repeated prompt into a skill.
- Use CODO, plus a trigger and resources.
- Keep variable inputs out of the skill.
- Test before you share with your team.
- Build the skill where the work happens.
This overview is based on the Skills module in Lead with AI's AI Leader Advanced program. Lead with AI helps senior leaders build practical AI fluency through hands-on courses and a membership community.
