Google will completely disable Search for K-12 student accounts at schools that turn off its Gemini AI features, the company told The New York Times. According to a company update shared Tuesday, access to Gemini, Gemini Notebook, Gemini in Classroom and Google Search “will be entirely off” for student accounts unless administrators explicitly enable them.
Administrators cannot toggle Gemini-powered features off while keeping Search enabled. Chris Phillips, Google’s vice president of education, told the Times that “Search and AI are deeply integrated,” and schools that disable AI features “will not have access to Search, and they’ll see a message from their school that indicates it’s not available.”
The announcement follows Google’s decision earlier this year to turn its Gemini AI assistant on by default in Google Classroom, which is used by more than 150 million teachers and students globally. Last month, lawmakers questioned Google about potential harms of its AI products in schools.
Several officials criticized the new restriction. Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) called the move “extortion,” while NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani said “no corporation should have the power to dictate how we teach our children.” Rohit Chopra, California’s Secretary of Business Consumer Services, wrote that Big Tech shouldn’t be able to “strong-arm schools.”
Google said the change will “give schools more choice, not less,” noting that schools can turn each service on or off individually. The company is also embedding its Guided Learning feature into AI Overviews in Search to address concerns about students using AI to find shortcuts rather than solving problems themselves. Google plans to begin testing this feature in select US schools this month.