# Skill (Claude / GPT)

**Source:** https://promtable.com/glossary/skill

> A Skill is a packaged capability — instructions + tools + files — that an AI assistant can selectively load to handle a specific task type, distinct from a Custom GPT in distribution and surface.

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A Skill is a packaged capability — instructions + tools + files — that an AI assistant can selectively load to handle a specific task type, distinct from a Custom GPT in distribution and surface.

Anthropic introduced Skills for Claude in 2024 as a reusable unit of capability — a system prompt + scripts + reference files — that Claude loads when relevant to the conversation. OpenAI's Custom GPTs serve a similar purpose but distribute publicly via the GPT Store. By 2026 both are widely used for internal team workflows and shareable productized assistants. Skills are particularly strong for engineering teams that want versioned, code-reviewed assistant behaviour rather than chat-room prompt sharing.

## When to use

- Internal team workflows that need reusable assistant behaviour.
- Productizing a recurring task as a packaged capability.

## Common mistakes

- Skill that's too broad — loses focus and quality.
- Skipping eval on the skill — quality drifts with model updates.

## Related terms

- [system-message](https://promtable.com/glossary/system-message)
- [agent](https://promtable.com/glossary/agent)
- [mcp](https://promtable.com/glossary/mcp)
- [tool-use](https://promtable.com/glossary/tool-use)

*Last updated: 2026-06-01*
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Original page: https://promtable.com/glossary/skill
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