Google will switch AI off by default for school students, but search AI can't be separated

What Google announced

Google said on November 3 (US time) that for K-12 accounts, meaning kindergarten through high school, several AI features will be off unless a school administrator deliberately turns them on. The affected tools are Gemini (its AI assistant), Gemini Notebook, Gemini in Classroom and Google Search.

As itmedia.co.jp reported, Google says the change follows feedback from schools, teachers, researchers and policymakers. It has not officially given a start date. The New York Times reports it begins early next year, and Google plans to brief schools in the coming months.

The catch with Search

A school can turn off Gemini and keep Google Search. But it cannot turn off the AI parts of Search: the AI-written summaries at the top of results (AI Overviews) and the chat-style search (AI Mode).

So the choice is stark. A school that blocks AI entirely would also block Google Search for its students, who would see a message saying it is unavailable. Google's education vice president, Chris Phillips, told the Times that "search and AI are deeply integrated."

Why it is a flashpoint

Public schools in New York City and Los Angeles already restrict student use of generative AI this school year. For them, the design forces a choice between allowing search with AI in it and giving up search.

New York City's mayor, Zohran Kwame Mamdani, said on X that Google is using monopoly power to push AI onto public schools. Google replied on its own X account that the change expands school options, since each tool starts off and can be enabled separately.

Guided Learning

Google also announced Guided Learning, an AI mode meant to help students work through problems rather than get an instant answer. In Search, a physics question or a book report query would get step-by-step explanations and prompting questions. A trial starts in some US schools this month and will widen over the next several months.

In Google Classroom, a version of Guided Learning that supports students on teacher-assigned work became available worldwide on November 3. Teachers can see in real time how students are doing and where more help is needed.