Google says K-12 schools that turn off its AI tools will also lose Search, drawing criticism from officials

What happened

Google told The New York Times that it will turn off Search entirely in schools that reject its AI features, The Verge reported. The company also included the change in a wider education update on Tuesday. That update said Gemini, Gemini Notebook, Gemini in Classroom and Google Search will be fully off for K-12 student accounts unless administrators explicitly turn them on.

According to The Verge, administrators will not be able to switch off the Gemini-powered features while keeping Search. Students in schools that decline the AI tools will see a notice saying Search is not available. Our earlier brief on how Google's AI opt-out also cuts off school search covered the first details of the change.

How Google explains the change

Search and AI tied together

Chris Phillips, Google's vice president of education, told the Times that "Search and AI are deeply integrated." He said schools that disable the AI features will lose Search, and that students will see a message from their school saying it is not available.

Google's case for more choice

Google argues the change will "give schools more choice, not less," according to The Verge. The company said schools can turn each service on or off individually. The Verge noted that while Google is no longer switching AI features on by default in schools, choosing to leave them off comes at a cost.

Why it matters for schools

The announcement follows Google's decision, just months earlier, to turn on its Gemini AI assistant by default inside the Google Classroom app, The Verge reported. The outlet said Classroom is used by more than 150 million teachers and students around the world.

The Verge said the earlier move added to skepticism about Google's push to bring AI into classrooms, amid reports of falling test scores and other effects on how students learn. Last month, lawmakers pressed Google about the "potential harms" of placing its AI products in schools, according to the outlet. More coverage of technology in education is collected on our AI and tech page.

How officials responded

Criticism from lawmakers and local leaders

Several lawmakers and local leaders reacted to the decision to block Search, The Verge reported. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont Democrat, called it "extortion." New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said "no corporation should have the power to dictate how we teach our children."

Rohit Chopra, California's Secretary of Business and Consumer Services, wrote that Big Tech should not be able to "strong-arm schools," according to The Verge. The outlet added responses from lawmakers and Google in an update dated November 3.

Google's response to cheating concerns

Google is also trying to answer worries that students use its AI tools to find "shortcuts" instead of working through problems on their own, The Verge reported. The company is building its Guided Learning feature, which is supposed to help students work through problems, into the AI Overviews shown in Search.

Google will start testing that feature in select U.S. schools this month, according to The Verge. The outlet did not say which schools or districts will take part.

What to watch next

• Testing of Guided Learning inside AI Overviews in select U.S. schools, which Google says begins this month.
• Which schools will take part in the Guided Learning test, which The Verge did not identify.
• Whether school administrators explicitly turn on Gemini and Search for K-12 student accounts, which will otherwise stay off.