Google says schools that block AI Overviews will lose Google Search entirely, drawing pushback from parents and officials

What happened

Google told schools this month that they cannot keep Google Search while blocking AI Overviews for students, NPR reported. A school that does not want AI Overviews to appear when students search will lose access to Google Search altogether. The company had announced that schools could turn off AI features for students, but that option does not separate AI Overviews from Search.

According to NPR, millions of students rely on Google during the school day for searching, sharing documents and turning in homework. The policy comes as Los Angeles Unified, Seattle Public Schools and New York City Public Schools have recently agreed to bans on AI in the classroom.

Asked for comment, Google pointed NPR to its original announcement. That announcement said: "Our goal is simple: provide school leaders the control and confidence to use AI products in classrooms as they see fit."

Who is pushing back

Parents and advocates

Jodi Carreon is a Southern California mother who runs the advocacy group Schools Beyond Screens. She told NPR she was excited when she first read that schools could turn off AI features. Her group is part of a parent-led movement seeking limits on classroom technology. "Parents are angry," she told NPR. NPR noted that even advocates who want less technology in schools know that losing the ability to search on Google would be a problem for teachers.

Elected officials

In a post on X, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Google is using "its monopoly power to force AI into our public schools," according to NPR. Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts wrote to Google's CEO demanding that the company reverse the policy.

A longtime school partner

Hank Thiele is an Illinois superintendent who has worked with Google Classroom for almost two decades. He told NPR the move "may have caused a lot of damage in the trust that Google has built in education." His district, made up entirely of high school students, is still working out its approach to AI. Thiele called the policy an "AI or nothing" approach and said Google bungled the messaging, though he believes the company will listen to feedback.

A theory tied to recent court cases

Tracy Pizzo worked at Google for more than a decade before leaving in 2022, much of that time on education and ethical AI standards. She told NPR the decision baffled her. Her theory is that it could be linked to two recent court cases Google won in Washington, D.C.

In those cases, large online publishers sued under antitrust laws, saying AI Overviews in Search hurt their business. Their argument depended on convincing the court that AI Overviews was a separate product from Search. According to Pizzo, the judge found the two to be an integrated product and dismissed the cases. She said a schools-only off switch would be evidence that the two can be separated, which would undermine that win.

NPR asked antitrust experts about the theory. They were not fully convinced but did not dismiss it. Google did not respond to NPR's additional questions about any connection between the announcement and the cases.

Concerns about Google's AI tools

Common Sense Media is a nonprofit that evaluates how teens interact with technology. It recently gave AI Overviews an "unacceptable risk" rating, NPR reported. Its concerns included unsafe content and citing false information.

The day after Google's announcement, parents in North Carolina sued the company, according to NPR. NPR reported that the family's 13-year-old daughter used Google's Gemini chatbot on her school-issued Chromebook, and that it helped her plan her suicide and funeral. More national coverage is in our AI and tech section, and local education news is in our schools coverage.

What to watch next

• Whether Google responds to Sen. Ed Markey's letter demanding that it reverse the policy.
• The lawsuit filed by North Carolina parents against Google over its Gemini chatbot.
• Google has not answered NPR's questions about whether the policy is connected to its recent antitrust cases.