Google, which is based in Mountain View, is changing how its AI tools reach the classroom. Critics say the new setup pressures schools to adopt AI or lose Google Search for students.
What Google announced
On Tuesday, Nov. 3, Google said its AI features (Gemini, Gemini Notebook and Gemini in Classroom) and Google Search will be turned off by default for K-12 student accounts until "school administrators explicitly turn them on." Chris Phillips, Google's vice president and general manager of education, announced the change in a blog post, CBS News reported. Schools that ban AI "will not have access to search," Phillips said. Schools can turn on one, two or all three services.
"We believe schools should have control over AI in their classrooms," Phillips wrote.
Why it matters
Google is by far the dominant provider of education technology in U.S. schools. The company says 150 million students and teachers worldwide use Google Classroom, and many students use school-issued Chromebooks, Lookout Santa Cruz reported. Google drew backlash in August when it switched on Gemini for many K-12 students. Before that, Gemini could only be turned on for students 18 and older.
The pushback
"Google is using its search monopoly to coerce schools into adopting AI," wrote Lina Khan, the former Federal Trade Commission chair. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani accused the company of "trying to use its monopoly power to force AI into our public schools." Josh Golin, executive director of the children's advocacy group Fairplay, said the move is "likely to backfire" and urged schools to look for privacy-protective alternatives. American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten said Google was putting its business interests ahead of education.
For Bay Area districts that use Google Workspace for Education, the choice now falls to administrators: enable AI to keep Search, or turn both off for students.