Google is giving schools more options to manage how students use its AI tools, but schools that choose not to use AI may also lose access to Google Search. The issue stems from the company’s integration of AI features into its search service.
In a blog post about responsible AI for learning, Google said school administrators would be able to control access to Gemini, Gemini Notebook, Gemini in Classroom and Google Search. The company also described changes to how AI Mode and AI Overviews appear on school accounts, intended to avoid simply giving students answers to their schoolwork.
Google’s vice president for education, Chris Phillips, has said that Search and AI are “deeply integrated.” The company announced at Google I/O in June that “Google Search is now AI Search.”
The arrangement has drawn criticism from officials concerned that schools may be unable to reject AI without giving up a widely used search service. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has banned AI use in some schools, said on X that Google was using its market power to push AI into public schools. Former Federal Trade Commission chair Lina Khan also warned about the risks of a dominant company controlling an essential service. Senator Bernie Sanders described Google’s decision as a threat to schools and called removing Search from schools that opt out of AI “extortion.”
Google says its goal is to give school leaders the control to decide how AI products are used in classrooms. However, the tight connection between AI features and Search means that schools seeking to avoid AI may not be able to keep using Google’s search service.
Sources: TechRadar.