Google offers schools optional AI tools but requires search to be disabled if AI is turned off
Google will let K-12 schools decide whether to enable its AI features, but opting out will also disable Google Search for student accounts.
Google announced that its education suite will default to disabling AI tools for K-12 schools, requiring administrators to manually activate them. The policy applies to Gemini, Gemini Notebook, Gemini in Classroom, and Google Search, meaning schools must choose either to enable all of these services or none of them.
In a statement to The New York Times, Google education vice president Chris Phillips said that "Search and AI are deeply integrated," adding that students in schools that do not enable AI will not have access to search and will see a notice from their school indicating the restriction.
If schools enable AI, they will have two options: the standard Gemini-based AI and a "Guided Learning" mode designed to offer tutoring assistance without directly providing answers. Google notes that its generative AI products can produce errors.
The company’s approach mirrors its consumer strategy, where AI features are increasingly embedded in search results. Schools that prefer to avoid AI integration may consider alternative search providers that allow AI features to be turned off.