Google to cut Search access for schools blocking its AI tools
The change would take effect next year and would affect schools that want students to use Google Search without its AI features.
Google will cut off access to its AI-free version of Search for K-12 school districts that block its generative artificial intelligence tools, Forbes reported on Tuesday.
In a blog post, Google said it will automatically turn off the AI tools built into its school software for K-12 students starting next year.
Administrators will have to opt in if they want students to use Gemini products on Google's school hardware or software, and the tools stay inactive until they switch them on in their management console.
The basic search engine is among the tools that will be turned off by default, but Google has now tied Search to Gemini, Gemini Notebook and Gemini in Classroom.
Forbes described the arrangement as an "all-or-nothing" setting that forces schools to accept AI if they also want Search.
Chris Phillips, vice president for education at Google, told the New York Times that the company's AI features are "deeply integrated" into Search, and students will not get one without the other.
Google also said it has rolled out so-called "Guided Learning" capabilities in classrooms worldwide.
Under that feature, Search will not give students direct answers to homework questions and will instead use step-by-step prompts to guide their thinking, the company said.
Morgan Polikoff, an education professor at the University of Southern California, told the Times the move was a clear example of technology companies pushing AI on users who have said they do not want it.
Google's suite of K-12 tools is used by more than 150 million students and teachers, including Google Workspace for Education and Google Classroom, according to Forbes' background on the company's market position.
Forbes said Google's low-cost Chromebooks make up roughly 60 percent of all classroom devices.
In August, Google turned on AI features by default in its Classroom app, a move that upset some school leaders and parents who said administrators should decide how students use AI.
Forbes said Tuesday's announcement reverses that August decision but limits schools that want students to use Google Search for research.
Forbes also noted that the nation's two largest public school districts, New York City Public Schools and Los Angeles Unified School District, moved earlier this fall to broadly restrict generative AI on district devices, affecting a combined 1.4 million students.
Los Angeles officials had hoped students could keep standard Google Search while disabling AI Overviews, a compromise that Google's new policy removes.
