Introducing Learn Mode: your personal coding tutor in Google Colab

Spencer Shumway

Product Manager

Mae LaPresta

Software Engineer

Google Colab is expanding its Gemini integration with two new improvements that will help you customize your Gemini agent in Colab. Custom Instructions and Learn Mode give you more control over how Gemini in Colab works and how it helps you learn.

Custom Instructions, stored at the notebook level, allow notebook authors to tailor their Colab Gemini AI assistant and share their personalized assistants with the Colab community. Learn Mode turns Gemini into a personal coding tutor that provides step-by-step guidance instead of writing code for you.

Whether you're a seasoned developer brushing up on a new framework, an educator designing coursework or a student who’s new to coding, Custom Instructions and Learn Mode make Gemini a more flexible, one-of-a-kind assistant.

Customize your preferences

Add context to fit your personal workflow, class or project needs with Custom Instructions.

Do you have a preferred coding style? Do you want your agent to be aware of your class syllabus when making recommendations? Do you want Gemini to always use a specific library when teaching you? Add those preferences as Custom Instructions. Toggle them directly from the Gemini chat box and save them to your notebook.

Build your skills in Learn Mode

Have you ever wanted Gemini to guide you rather than just give you the answer?

Instead of solving your problem with a block of copy-paste code, Learn Mode — which is powered by Custom Instructions — answers coding questions with step-by-step instructions that break down complex topics, explain the underlying concepts and help you develop your skills.

You can turn on Learn Mode from the Gemini chat window in Colab. It's the perfect companion for anyone looking to deepen their understanding of new frameworks or programming languages.

You can see some example notebooks below. Start a chat with the Gemini Colab agent, which is preprogrammed to use Learn Mode in these notebooks, and it will guide you through the Python programming exercises.

Share your knowledge

One of the best parts about Colab is the community and the ability to share your work, and we built these features with sharing in mind.

Custom Instructions are stored directly within your notebook and applied to future Gemini chats in that notebook. When you share your notebook with colleagues or the broader community, those instructions travel with it. This ensures that anyone collaborating on or learning from your notebook gets the tailored AI experience you designed.

We can't wait to see how you use Custom Instructions and Learn Mode to discover, build and share your work.

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