MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – Google said Tuesday that Gemini, Gemini Notebook, Gemini in Classroom and Google Search will be turned off by default for K-12 student accounts until school administrators explicitly switch them on, reversing a default it adopted for classrooms in August.
The announcement followed a Wall Street Journal investigation into Google’s AI rollout in schools and a bipartisan Senate inquiry, the Journal reported. Google did not cite the inquiry in its announcement, according to Education Week.
“Access to these products will be entirely off for K-12 student accounts until school administrators explicitly turn them on,” Chris Phillips, Google’s vice president and general manager of education, wrote in a blog post, according to CP24. The New York Times reported that the changes take effect early next year, and Google said it would share more specifics with schools in the coming months.
The policy initially tied Search to AI: CNN reported that schools choosing to opt out of AI would also lose access to Search. Phillips told The New York Times that Search and AI are “deeply integrated,” and that students in such schools would see a message saying Search was unavailable.
After backlash, Google said schools could turn on Search without enabling Gemini or Gemini Notebook, according to NBC’s Today. The clarification still leaves a catch: Today reported that Search would retain AI features, including AI Overviews. Bloomberg said districts must choose between Search with embedded AI and no Search.
Google said AI Mode and AI Overviews in student accounts will be updated to provide step-by-step “guided learning” instead of quick answers to schoolwork. It plans a pilot in select US schools later this month before expanding to other districts in the coming months, according to Search Engine Roundtable.
The reversal follows Google’s August move to make Gemini in Classroom available to K-12 and higher-education students of all ages whose schools had already granted access, as Google’s Workspace update described it. Until August, Google had allowed Gemini only for students 18 or older, AP reported.
Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., sent Google CEO Sundar Pichai a letter on October 21 expressing “grave concern” about Google’s push of AI products to children in schools. They requested answers to nine questions by November 2, according to Education Week and Gizmodo.
Blumenthal criticized Google’s decision as once again driven by profit, the Connecticut Insider reported. It was not immediately clear whether Google had answered the senators’ questions. The senators’ letter is a request for information, not a finding of wrongdoing.
For districts, the choice is now practical. They can keep the default, with Search and Gemini off, or turn on either or both and allow students to use Guided Learning, according to Education Week. Schools that want Search without AI-generated results may find that option unavailable, based on Google’s current description.
