Google has announced that its artificial intelligence (AI) tools will be switched off by default for schoolchildren, following widespread criticism over the company’s push to introduce AI features to students while educational institutions continue to debate how the technology should be used in classrooms.
Under policy updates outlined in a company blog post on Tuesday, tools including Gemini, Gemini Notebook, Gemini in Classroom and Search will be disabled for K-12 student accounts unless school administrators explicitly choose to enable them, reports AFP.
Google confirmed to news agency AFP that the new control settings would be rolled out globally, starting in the United States, although no firm launch date has been announced.
The decision could have a significant impact, as the search engine giant dominates classroom technology across American schools. Its educational applications, including Gmail, Docs and the Classroom platform, are widely used in schools nationwide. Its low-cost Chromebook laptops are also the devices most frequently issued to US students.
However, the policy change means schools will be unable to provide students with access to Google Search without its integrated AI capabilities.
Explaining the restriction, Chris Phillips, Google’s vice president for education, told The New York Times that “Search and A.I. are deeply integrated”, as AI features are now built directly into the company’s core search engine.
He said that if a school decides to ban AI, students “will not have access to search, and they’ll see a message from their school that indicates it’s not available”.
The policy has drawn sharp criticism from civic leaders and lawmakers. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani accused Google on social media platform X of “trying to use its monopoly power to force AI into our public schools”.
“No corporation should have the power to dictate how we teach our children,” he wrote.
Concerns over the default settings were also raised in the US Senate, where Senators Richard Blumenthal and Josh Hawley sent a letter to Google last month seeking an explanation for why AI features had been activated by default on school devices.
The letter highlighted that more than 150 million students worldwide use Google Classroom.
Google had previously expanded its AI offerings in August by making its Gemini chatbot in Classroom available to students of all ages. The feature provided pupils with starter prompts tailored to their classes and assignments, along with guided assistance, study guides, practice quizzes and flashcards generated directly from their course materials.
The feature was automatically enabled by default for students at schools that had already activated Gemini.
Following the rapid rollout, major US school districts moved to restrict access to AI tools. In September, both New York and Los Angeles announced plans to limit access to AI tools on school-issued devices.
A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Unified School District told AFP that the district was “reviewing Google’s announcement and its potential implications for schools, educators and students”.
The spokesperson said the district believed AI could enhance teaching and learning if introduced carefully and supported by robust safeguards. The district’s principles require technology to support, rather than replace, teachers and protect students’ privacy.
Meanwhile, New York City Public Schools (NYCPS) is seeking further details from Google about the policy changes.
A spokesperson for the district told AFP that the Gemini chatbot and AI mode were already disabled on Chromebooks used by students in New York City.
“NYCPS has also made requests to Google to disable the AI Overview displayed in the Google search result for students,” the spokesperson added.
Responding to the feedback, Google said on X on Tuesday that the updated settings would give “schools more choice, not less”.
“We know there’s concern about students using AI to shortcut schoolwork, and schools have told us they want control,” the company added.
