Schools Blocking Google AI Will Also Lose Student Search Access
Google will require schools to enable its AI-integrated Search for students who need the search engine, while giving administrators separate controls over other AI products.
Google plans to turn off several products, including Search, for K-12 student accounts unless school administrators explicitly enable them. The company says administrators can switch the products on individually. But schools that prohibit Google’s AI tools altogether will also leave students without Google Search, because AI features are integrated into it.
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How the new controls will work
Google is revising its controls for Gemini, its notebook and Classroom AI tools, and Search after consulting schools, teachers, researchers and policymakers. According to Engadget, Google clarified that administrators will be able to enable the products separately; they will not have to switch on every product to use any of them.
Search presents a harder choice. Chris Phillips, Google’s vice president and general manager for education, told The New York Times, as reported by Engadget and TechCrunch, that Search and AI are deeply integrated. Students at schools that keep Search disabled will see a message indicating that it is unavailable.
The reports give different timelines for the change. Engadget says Google plans to roll out the updated controls in the coming months, while TechCrunch says AI tools will be off by default for K-12 students next year. TechCrunch reports that Google will provide schools with more details before the changes take effect.
Why schools face a trade-off
The decision follows objections to an earlier change. Google enabled certain AI features by default in Classroom in August, prompting a backlash from educators, according to Engadget. The new approach instead requires administrators to opt student accounts into the affected products.
TechCrunch notes that teachers may want students to use Search to find sources and learning materials without receiving AI-generated help with assignments. Under Google’s approach, schools cannot keep Google Search for students while removing its integrated AI features. Engadget says districts that reject that arrangement may need to consider other search engines and, potentially, other devices or learning platforms. Both outlets point to the widespread use of Google’s education products and Chromebooks in schools.
Google adds guided homework help
Alongside the control changes, Google is bringing Guided Learning to Classroom. Engadget reports that the tool is available globally in Classroom starting November 3. Rather than immediately supplying an answer, it breaks a problem into steps and can use interactive elements such as quizzes.
Google also plans to add Guided Learning prompts to Search for student accounts when its systems identify certain homework-related questions, according to Engadget. The company plans to test that Search experience in selected US schools starting this month before expanding it more broadly. In the school version of Guided Learning, teachers will be able to review transcripts of student chatbot interactions.
Sources
This story was compiled by AI from the reports below. Read the originals for the full details.