The technology giant said on Tuesday, November 3, that Google Search and its AI-powered educational products would be switched off by default for students using school-managed K-12 accounts unless school administrators explicitly enabled them.
The move comes amid growing calls from communities for stricter limits on screen time and AI use in schools, driven by concerns that the technology could undermine students’ learning and development or expose them to safety risks.
Google’s vice president and general manager of education, Chris Phillips, said the changes would affect access to Gemini, Gemini Notebook and Gemini in Classroom, as well as Google Search.
Under the new policy, schools will be able to decide which of the services students can access, with administrators having the option to enable one, two or all three.
Phillips said schools that prohibit AI tools would not have access to Google Search through the affected school-managed accounts and students would instead see a message indicating that the service was unavailable.
“We believe schools should have control over AI in their classrooms and in providing administrators with controls to help them manage their approach,” he wrote.
However, the announcement sparked criticism, with some accusing Google of using its dominance in online search to pressure schools into adopting its AI products.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani accused the company of attempting to use its monopoly power to force AI into public schools.
“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,” he said.
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