Google Is Forcing Schools to Choose Between Its Search Engine and AI

Google will automatically turn off its AI products for K-12 student accounts, requiring school administrators to manually opt in before students can use the technology, the company announced in a blog post on Tuesday. But there’s a big catch: If schools choose not to enable AI, students won’t be able to access Google Search. In August, the company’s AI products were automatically enabled in Google Classroom, Google’s free learning management system for students of all ages. Tuesday’s announcement reverses that decision. In October, tech and child-safety organizations wrote an open letter to 150 US school districts and their leadership, requesting that districts disable Google Gemini AI on school devices, concluding that “children are at risk of being harmed.” “After listening to schools, teachers, leading researchers and policymakers, we are now updating our approach to controls for Gemini, Gemini Notebook, Gemini in Classroom and Google Search,” wrote Chris Phillips, Google’s vice president and general manager of education. For student accounts with Google Search enabled, Gemini will feature a new Guided Learning study tool. The interactive feature helps students solve homework problems step by step rather than providing direct answers. Later this month, at select US schools, Guided Learning will launch as a pilot program to collect feedback before rolling out to more schools. Google’s influence in schools According to a 2024 Google blog post, over 150 million teachers and students worldwide use Google Classroom and Assignments, the company’s assignment distribution and grading app. A 2025 New York Times survey sent to the 20 largest US school districts found that Google’s Chromebooks, which start at $179, are the most common device in classrooms, with about 80% of teachers reporting that their school district provided Chromebooks for students. The default search engine on Chromebooks is Google Search. What schools are saying New York City Public Schools, the largest US public school district, is a Google client. When asked for comment, a NYC Public Schools spokesperson pointed to NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s X post. “Google is trying to use its monopoly power to force AI into our public schools,” Mamdani wrote in the Tuesday post. “No corporation should have the power to dictate how we teach our children. Our public schools exist to serve students, not to grow the profit margins of Big Tech.” The second largest US district, the Los Angeles Unified School District, is also a Google client. A Los Angeles Unified spokesperson told CNET in an email that the organization is reviewing Google’s announcement and its potential implications for schools, educators and students. The district believes emerging technologies, including AI, have the potential to enhance teaching and learning when introduced thoughtfully, responsibly and with clear safeguards, the spokesperson said. “Our Emerging Technologies Framework establishes a set of principles to guide these decisions, including ensuring that technology supports rather than replaces educators, directly advances student learning, promotes equitable access, protects student privacy and security and is implemented transparently,” the spokesperson explained. What experts have to say Ying Xu, an assistant professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and founder and director of the Harvard Child-Centered AI Lab, told CNET in an email that Google’s Guided Learning tool could buffer some of the negative consequences of using general-purpose AI tools. “But to me, the deeper question is: Do students still need to learn how to search for information using traditional search engines?” Xu said. Students miss out on learning foundational skills In her work, Xu found that seeking information using traditional search engines, as opposed to AI models, involves different processes, ranging from how students formulate queries to how they evaluate information to how they integrate it from multiple sources. “I’m a bit concerned that, even with Guided Learning, students may be losing opportunities to practice these important information-seeking skills,” said Xu. “One concern I have with Google’s announcement is whether schools will still have the option to support traditional information seeking without AI features.” Until recently, the conversation focused on whether AI should be allowed in schools at all. Now, Google’s announcement is forcing schools to decide which specific AI features to use and under what conditions, without the support needed to make these decisions. Schools with more resources are better positioned “I do think there’s a risk of widening inequalities here, as schools with more resources and technical expertise may be better positioned to navigate these decisions, while others may have fewer options,” Xu said. However, she doesn’t think that moving away from Google entirely is necessarily the solution, especially for districts that already rely on its systems. Instead, Xu thinks the type of support available to schools as they navigate AI-related decisions will be crucial. Still, the responsibility falls on schools “With or without Google’s decision about search functionality, the responsibility falls on schools to protect students’ right to learn from human teachers and peers in human-led classrooms,” said Jennifer L. Steele, a professor at American University’s Baker School of Education. “Tools like Gemini Guided Learning, which uses AI to walk students through difficult questions, are not the answer.” When schools and teachers rely on tech companies to teach students how to use their AI tools and understand their strengths and weaknesses, that’s when problems occur, she said. “If schools take that responsibility seriously, then how Google configures its apps won’t really matter,” Steele said. Google’s response When asked for a response to the backlash surrounding the decision to turn off its search engine for schools that reject its AI, a Google spokesperson pointed to the company’s X post stating that schools can choose to turn on Gemini, Gemini Notebook or Search individually. However, that post doesn’t address the fact that AI Mode and AI Overviews will still be enabled alongside Google Search. So if schools don’t want AI enabled for students at all, they will still lose the ability to use the search engine. A Google spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for further comment. Google does have a choice Tracy Pizzo Frey, a former Google managing director, wrote on LinkedIn that Google could allow schools to turn off AI Overviews, but instead is choosing to take search away from students. Search engine DuckDuckGo, for instance, has noai.duckduckgo.com, its AI-free search engine that automatically disables all AI features and filters out AI-generated images. “AI overviews is a search module like maps, flights or weather,” a DuckDuckGo spokesperson said in an email. “Google can determine when it shows up and when it doesn’t.” But educators have a choice too Experts caution that educators can’t count on tech platforms to police themselves. Because AI tools are now permanent fixtures, schools must shape their own path forward. The primary hurdle is an uneven playing field, where wealthier districts have the resources to adapt, leaving underfunded systems struggling to keep up. Anna Gragert (she/her/hers) was previously the lifestyle editor at HelloGiggles, the deputy editor at So Yummy and the senior lifestyle editor at Hunker. Over the past 12 years, Anna has also written for the LA Times, Elle, Bust Magazine, Dazed, Apartment Therapy, Well+Good and more. At CNET, she's a senior editor on the Healthy Home team, and her coverage includes health, wellness tech, meal kits and home and kitchen tech with a focus on the technology that aims to help us live our healthiest, happiest lives. See full bio The Latest from Anna Google Is Forcing Schools to Choose Between Its Search Engine and AI The 3 Best Meditation Apps of 2026. Now, Take a Deep, Cleansing Breath Does Your Pet Really Need a Smart Collar? Veterinarians Weigh In